Family Health Zone

Dessert Recipes: Baked Brown Sugar Apples

This is the perfect light dessert, especially for those long, winter days. It's delicious as is, or served with a scoop of low-fat frozen yogurt.

Ingredients:

• 4 Granny Smith apples
• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼ cup raisins
• Cinnamon for sprinkling

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a bowl, combine the raisins, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Wash and core each apple and place in a baking dish.

Divide the brown sugar/raising mixture into four parts and fill each apple with the mixture.

Bake approximately 40 minutes or until the apples are tender.

How To Reduce Your Blood Pressure with Cucumber Juice

When it comes to using cucumbers, most of us just throw a few on our salad at lunch or dinner. And then there are some of us who have learned to use them to reduce puffiness around the eyes. But if you want the real benefit of cucumbers, then take them off your eyes and pop them into the juicer ... just not the same ones!

Cucumber juice can indeed help with your skin, but it’s actually more beneficial in reducing your high blood pressure. So, before you start taking some of those new blood pressure medications, or find that your current medication aren't controlling your blood pressure as well as they should, suggest to your physician that you want to try drinking a nice, tall glass of refreshing cucumber juice, a few days a week. Just remember, if you are under a doctor's care and treatment for high blood pressure, always talk to your doctor before making any changes in your diet. High blood pressure is nothing to fool around with!

There was a study done recently that showed foods high in potassium, magnesium and fiber can reduce blood pressure. In combination with a healthy diet these foods reduced the systolic blood pressure of the participants of the study, by 5 points and their diastolic blood pressure by 3.5 points.

So what’s this have to do with cucumber? Well, cucumbers are not only high in these three nutrients; they’re also a significant source of Vitamins A and K, folate, caffeic acid, and silica. They also contain a significant amount of Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that may also help to lower blood pressure.

Since cucumber juice isn’t exactly a high demand product, your best bet for drinking a quality juice, is to make your own. Making your own juice is great with any fruit or vegetable because you know what’s going into the juice and you know it’s fresh and full of live, active enzymes.

Cucumber is great for juicing because the water content is very high within the pulp. However, this means that most of the nutrients are actually contained within the skin. So try and buy un-waxed cucumber if possible because waxed cucumbers generally require pealing, removing valuable nutrient content. Buy your cucumbers from the refrigerated section of the grocery store and make sure to put them in your fridge as soon as you get home. They don’t stay fresh very long, so don’t wait longer than a day or two to juice them. Try to choose cucumbers that are firm, rounded, and that have a bright to dark green color. These are the best quality and will give you the best results.

If you want the benefits of cucumber juice, but just don’t think you will enjoy the taste, try mixing it with other juices. Carrot and Celery juices can both taste great when mixed with cucumber, plus they have great benefits of their own. If neither or those juices spark your fancy, use your imagination and start mixing. You probably don’t want to go too crazy, but if you can find a combination you like the taste of, you’re more likely to actually bother drinking the juice everyday.

A good tasting combination, if you enjoy the flavor of tomato juice is:

• 20 tbsp (300 ml) cucumber juice,
• 7 tbsp (100 ml) tomato juice and
• 1 tbsp chopped up parsley

In addition to lowering your blood pressure, cucumbers can improve your skin, help grow hair, nails,  and teeth, and even clean out your kidney. So, if you want to reduce your blood pressure while also promoting other factors of good health, why don’t you try throwing a few cucumbers in your juicer?

Grab a Glass of Juice Instead of Vitamins or Supplements

If you go into a health food store, or even a normal grocery store, you’re likely to find at least one aisle full of various vitamins and supplements. While these products may be helpful, they’re expensive, they can be a hassle, and they’re just not always the best way to get all the nutrients you need.

So, besides the hassle of taking a lot of pills every day, what’s so bad about supplements? While there’s nothing wrong with supplements, except that, they were designed to supplement a good diet, not replace it.

The best delivery system for vitamins and nutrients is the natural one. Supplements may not be digested or absorbed all the way, which means you don’t get all the benefits you’re supposed to. The only reason you should be taking supplements is if you can’t get the nutrients through your food, but unless you have some sort of medical disorder, or take certain prescribed medications, you can. You can get most of what you need from fruit and vegetable juices.

The important part of getting appropriate amounts of nutrients from juice is that you choose the right variety of juices. Different juices contain different vitamins in varying concentrations. Here’s a list of the vitamins and minerals contained in popular fruit juices.

• Orange: Vitamin C, Most B vitamins, potassium, foliate, and thiamine.
• Grape: Potassium, manganese, is rich in antioxidants.
• Pink Grapefruit: Vitamins C and A.

If you really want to stay healthy without supplements, you’re going to have to break down and start drinking vegetable juices. You may have avoided them in the past because you don’t like the taste, but these juices are great for you and don’t have the high sugar content that fruit juices do. If you just can’t take the taste of vegetable juices, try masking the flavor by adding some fruit. There are also a couple of companies out there that market bottled vegetable juices that are actually quite good.

Here are some of the power veggies that contain the most vitamins and minerals

• Spinach: Thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), foliate, vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc
• Beets: Calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, choline, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. Be sure to mix this one with another juice.
• Broccoli: Thiamine, vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium, sulfur, and potassium. It’s also high in fiber and protein.

If you want the most potential from your juices, you have to make sure they’re 100% percent juice without preservatives and additives. You can do this by checking labels, or by simply making your own juice. If you make your own juice, throw whole fruits and veggies in the juicer. The juicer will take out the solids and you’ll get a juice with greater nutritional value.

You may also want to invest in a good quality juicer. It can be a great investment and you may not need to bother with supplements or vitamins again.

Dessert Recipes: Homemade Fruit Sorbet

You can make this sorbet with any of your favorite fruits. Sliced strawberries, peaches, kiwi, bananas and mangos work well but really you can use just about any fruit of your choice.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh fruit
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 pinch  salt
• sugar to taste

Instructions:

Spread sliced fruit in one layer on a baking sheet.

Freeze, uncovered, until frozen solid. Once the fruit is frozen, let thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Place in a blender with the orange juice and process until smooth. Add a small pinch of salt and a little sugar to taste.

Dessert Recipes: Grilled Honey Pineapple Slices and Madeira Yogurt

If you prefer not to have any alcohol in your recipe, just omit the liqueur.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 6 fresh pineapple slices, Peeled and cut 1/2 inch thick
• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons Madeira liqueur

Instructions:

Preheat grill. 

Place the pineapple slices on a baking tray and drizzle the honey evenly over the pineapple slices. Sprinkle brown sugar onto pineapple slices and place on the grill over medium heat.

Cook about 10 minutes, turning slices occasionally, until browned on both sides.

In a bowl combine the yogurt and Madeira and serve with the grilled pineapple.

Battling Fatigue? Try some Grape Juice

You work hard during the day, and in the evening you deserve to take a break, relax, and get some rest. But how tired is too tired? If you come home so beat that you don’t even want to get up and move, you shouldn’t lie around waiting to feel better. You should get up and do something about your fatigue. Why not try a great natural energy booster? Grape juice.

The most obvious way grape juice helps fatigue is by adding iron to your diet. Iron deficiency is common, especially in women. It can cause severe fatigue and leave you feeling completely burnt out. Don’t drink dark grape juices if you are anemic (low on iron). Dark grape juices contain chemicals that can actually lower the level of iron in your system, worsening the problem. Stick to white or light grape juice for the best iron boost.

If your feeling extra tired after a workout, you probably need to replenish iron lost from sweating. Drinking grape juice will not only give you more energy, but also help with muscle fatigue as well.

Have you ever noticed how tired you get when you’re feeling under the weather? If you’re constantly  feeling burnt out, it may be because your immune system isn’t working properly due to poor diet or excessive stress. You’ve probably heard that wine contains powerful antioxidants that help keep your healthy. Well, grape juice contains antioxidants as well but doesn’t make your drowsy like alcohol can. If you drink it regularly, these antioxidants can help boost your immune system, leaving you feeling healthy and energized. Antioxidants have also been shown to fight heart disease, prevent Alzheimer’s, and decrease the signs of aging.

You should be wary of drinking grape juice if you have a specific disorder that is causing your fatigue. People with fibromyalgia, polymyalgia rheumatica, and chronic fatigue syndrome are actually cautioned against drinking grape juice because it contains too much sugar and can actually worsen fatigue.

When drinking grape juice to fight fatigue, you should be careful what brand you choose. Many “juices” are actually grape drinks or cocktails. These beverages have extra sugar added to them. While sugar may give you a boost in the short term, eventually your high will wear off. You’ll probably crash and feel even more burnt out than you were in the first place. For the most benefit, find 100% grape juices with all natural ingredients. If you can’t find a brand you like, just get some grapes and make your own.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t just deal with your fatigue, beat it and improve your health at the same time with an energizing glass of grape juice.

Dessert Recipes: Low-Fat Fruit Pudding

This is a quick and easy dessert which also works great with a variety of different fruits.

Ingredients:

• 2 peaches, peeled, sliced and pitted
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 cup of chopped, fresh strawberries
• 1 3.5 ounce instant vanilla pudding and pie mix
• 2 cups cold non-fat milk
• Brown sugar for sprinkling

Instructions:

Layer all the fruit into a glass dish and sprinkle with a little brown sugar.

Then, prepare vanilla pudding (with non-fat milk) according to the package instructions.

Once pudding is ready pour pudding over fruit. Chill until fully set.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Grand Marnier Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 peach, peeled
• 2 plums
• 24 green seedless grapes, cut in half
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons grand Marnier

Instructions:

In a bowl mix the fruit, lemon juice, sugar and grand Marnier.

Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours for the fruit to absorb the liqueur.

Spoon fruit over low-fat frozen vanilla yogurt or serve fruit in bowls with a side of whipped topping.

Dessert Recipes: Fat-Free Valentine’s Day Pavlova

This dessert is actually much easier to make than it sounds. It’s very light and delicious and the perfect ending to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• ¾ cup fine sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 ½ cups fat-free whipped topping
• 1 cup sliced, fresh strawberries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take a 9-inch plate and place it upside down on the parchment paper, then draw an outline of that plate (to make a nice even round shape)

Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat the eggs until very foamy using an electric mixer.   

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites then continue mixing on medium speed until peaks start to form. Slowly add the sugar a little bit at a time and beating on high between each addition. Keep mixing until egg whites are stiff.

Now carefully spoon the meringue mixture onto the parchment paper, following the outline to shape into a circle. Flatten the center of the meringue a little bit so that the edges are slightly higher.

Gently place in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Switch off oven and allow meringue to dry (in oven). This may take about 2 hours. Finally, remove from oven and allow to cool.

Once meringue is cool, spread the fat-free whipped topping over it and top with the sliced strawberries.

Serve immediately.

Dessert Recipe: Low-Fat Trifle

This may sound complicated, but it's really quite easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz package of low-fat cream cheese
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 1 8.5oz package angel food cake (cut into 1-inch slices)
• 1 8oz package of whipped topping
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 cup raspberries or blueberries
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding (low-fat)

Instructions:

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl using an electric mixer.

Slowly add the milk, ½ cupful at a time and mixing well.

Add the pudding mix and mix well.

Gently stir in whipped topping and then fold in fruit.

Arrange 1/3 of the angel cake slices into a serving bowl and top with 1/3 of the pudding and fruit mixture, repeat layers two more times. Refrigerate until set (about 30 minutes) and serve.