Grilled Tuna with Mango Salsa

The weather is finally starting to turn nice and the weekend is just around the corner, so break out your grills, invite some friends over and make the below vitamin & nutrient packed Tuna w/ Pineappe-Mango Salsa. With a kick from Jalepeno, the flavors are complex but the ingredient list is simple!

Pineapple: Pineapple offers a fun tropical flare to this recipe. This delicious fruit is a great source of Vitamin C to help keep your immune system health. But, even cooler Pineapple is a great source of Bromelain- an enzyme with anti-inflammatory properties- great for people dealing with Arthritis. Bromelain also aids in the digestion of protein. Good thing we're pairing this with Tuna Steaks! Another fun fact about pineapple is that it is an excellent source of manganese, a mineral important to the health of bones, skin, nails, & cartilage.

Mango: Mangoes are back in season and I'm thrilled! Mangoes are a great source of iron. If you're like me and bruise like a peach, you're not getting enough iron. Instead of turning to leafy greens to get iron, try a yummy mango! Mangoes also offer maganese & potassium which studies show help to lower blood pressure. And if you need another incentive to try out this recipe.. Mangoes are also a good source Vitamin E which has been shown to help regulate sex hormones and thereby boost sex life so why not give it a try!

Grilled Tuna with Pineapple-Mango Salsa:

Salsa:

1-2 Cups Fresh Pineapple, Diced

1 Fresh Mango, Diced

1 Jalepeno, minced (remove seeds to lessen heat or leave them in to make hotter)

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

Splash of OJ

1/4 Cup Green Bell Pepper, minced

Tuna:

4 (6-8 oz) Tuna Steaks

Salt & Pepper

Combine all Salsa ingredients & let stand at room temp for 2 hours to let flavors marry

Season Tuna Steaks w/ Salt & Pepper grill to desired degree of doneness. About 3-4 mins per side.

Top Tuna w/ Salsa Mixture & pair with a simple Spinach Salad for A killer super easy weekend dinner!

"The 3-Day Cleanse", by the founders of BluePrintCleanse® (2010).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2009964/health_benefits_of_mangoes.html?cat=68

Awesome Chocolate-Cherry "Heart Smart" Cookies

It's been a while since I've posted a healthy (healthier) dessert, and trust me these cookies are outstanding. The ingredients are simple, and somehow sweets always taste so much better when you know exactly what's in them. So bake up a batch of these and bring them into the office to brighten up everyone's day, and let them know what health benefits they're getting!

Dried Cherries: First and foremost, like other fruits and veggies that are rich in color, Cherries are chock-full of antioxidants. The antioxidant that gives Cherries their deep red color is a phytonutrient called anthocyanins. These guys not only protect our cells against free radical damage, but also contribute to Cherries's awesome anti-inflammatory properties. A recent University of Michigan study revealed a cherry-enriched diet reduced inflammation markers in animals by up to 50 percent. Also, recent research links anthocyanins with reduced muscle soreness in active adults. Hi, awesome reason to incorporate cherries into your diet (Especially if you're training for any sort of race)!


Oats: We also can't talk about this recipe without mentioning the heart-healthy benefits of oats. Why are oats so great for maintaining heart health and keeping bad cholesterol (LDL) down? It's in the fiber content! Oats contain both insoluble & soluble fiber. The insoluble fiber is the kind that helps keep your digestive system regular, where as the soluble fiber plays a direct roll in maintaining cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber turns into a gel-like substance when consumed. It then traps cholestorol-laden substances (i.e. bile acids, etc) and carries them out of your system. Thus, reducing the overall absorption of cholesterol into the blood stream.

So do your heart a favor and try out these cookies! At 94 calories per cookie it's virtually guilt-free!


Chocolate-Cherry "Heart Smart" Cookies

Ingredients
1.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup)
1.5 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.

3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined. Fold in chocolate. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Great Snack Idea from Women's Health Mag

I'm always looking for healthy afternoon snacks that will give me an energy boost and steer me away from the coffee pot. I just ran accross the below Apple w/ Cinnamon Peanut Butter 'recipe' on Women's Health and am so excited to try it out! I always reach for an apple when that 4:00 energy lull stirkes, but adding Cinnamon & Peanut Butter offers such a fun way to kick it up.

This is great also if you have a workout coming up later in the afternoon. You'll get some protein and carbs in your stomach to fuel your workout and keep you on that treadmill longer!



Apples: A favorite of mine since I was a kid, apples are loaded with great health benefits. The thing that stands out the most for apples is their high fiber content. According to the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy, the avg American consumes 15 g of fiber though the RDA is 38g for men & 25g for women. Eating 1 apple a day will get you 15% of your RDA for fiber- it's so easy!
Fiber is important because it helps regulate weight and keeps your digestive system functioning optimally. There are two types of fiber & apples contain both- Soluble & Insoluble. Soluble Fiber helps maintain cholesterol & blood sugar levels while Insoluble Fiber helps with digestion and protects against colon cancer.
Apples also are rich sources for flavonoids. I know, why does that matter?... Flavonoids offer antioxidant protection from free-radicals that seek to damage cells' integrity. Other flavonoids regulate blood pressure and over production of fats in your liver cells- gross right? So grab an apple and do your body some good!

Cinnamon: The dash of cinnamon (or more if you're like me and love this spice) can help with any inflammation you might be experiencing from arthritis or even just inflammation that effects sinuses when you have a cold.

Apples w Cinnamon Peanut Butter

1 Apple cut into thick slices
1 1/2 tbsp Peanut Butter
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

In a bowl combine peanut butter & Cinnamon (you can add more or less as you like but the more you add the greater the health benefits!).
Cut apples into thick slices and serve w/ PB mixture

See super easy, super delicious, and super fast! There's no reason to not try this out :)

www.whfoods.com

Let's Talk Strawberries

I know what you're thinking, strawberries are really not in season. But let's face it, when you're entertaining, after serving a heavy meal a la Eggplant Lasagna, you really want to offer your guests a light dessert option (And they will thank you for that!). The below recipe... not even a recipe, more like an entertaining trick... is great for out of season strawberries that tend to be tart.

Strawberries are a great source of Manganese, Fiber, Iodine, Potassium, B Vitamins, and Vitamin K. Most notably though, 1 cup of strawberries provides over 100% of your RDA of Vitamin C . I've talked a bit about Vitamin C this winter, but don't worry there's a reason for that. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin. Unlike fat soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, & K) which are stored in fat in the body until they are needed, water soluble vitamins travel through the blood stream, and then whatever isn't used is urinated out. So we need to keep replenishing. Instead of eating orange after orange, spice it up with some berries :)
Vitamin C is important for a few other reasons as well. It's vital to the production of collagen, which is found virtually everywhere in the body. I mean really, it's found in connective tissue, cartilage, and within various types of cells. It also is important for eye health and bone health.

Strawberries & Triple Sec

4 c. strawberries quartered (Adjust size as needed depending on how many people are eating)
1/8 c triple sec

I have my mom to thank for this one. She showed me this trick and it's so useful when hosting. There are never any berries left! Put strawberries in a big bowl, pour triple sec over. Use your (clean) fingers to toss to coat the berries. Cover with saran wrap and place in fridge for 1-2 hours. Bring out right at dessert time for a fun treat! It's so simple you can focus on your guests instead of food




http://nutrition.about.com/od/healthyfood1/a/berries.htm
http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/vitamin.html

Lighten Up in the New Year with Salmon!

New Year's means New Year's Resolutions! Mine: post more awesome healthy recipes! So tune in weekly for some killer dishes to help keep you on track with any health oriented goals you may have set up for yourself for 2010. It's a new decade, might as well start it off right!
I figure we'll start strong with one of my favorite Salmon Recipes that has more health benefits than I can even list here! Here's the health breakdown:


Salmon- It's winter and none of us are getting enough sun, so none of us are getting enough Vitamin D, that vital nutrient for bone health...Enter Salmon. 3.5 oz of Salmon (approx size of a deck of cards) contains nearly 90% of your daily recommended intake. Salmon also gets great attention due to its high content of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. (We talked about these in my post about Flax ) Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fats- the good kind- that help fight heart disease, and help keep skin and joints healthy.

Tomato- It's become common knowledge that tomatoes are a good source of lycopene, but I'm sure we're all asking the same question here... why does that even matter? Lycopene, a carotenoid, may act as an antioxidant in the human body. There are studies linking lycopene consumption from tomatoes with decreased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. Tomatoes also contain high levels of Vitamin C, folate, & potassium.

Jalapeño- Capsaicin is the nutrient that gives all peppers their kick. The hotter the pepper, the higher the content of Capsaicin. This phytochemical has been shown to kill off prostate cancer cells in mice. Capsaicin can also help allieve a stuffy nose by stimulating secretions which help clear mucus from your nasal passage. On top of that, Capsaicin is known as an anti-inflammatory nutrient that can help with arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

Seriously, I apologize for the length of this post but this is a great recipe. It's a variation of a recipe I saw in Cooking Light. Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions for improvement :)


Salmon w Jalapeno, Tomato, & Red Onion Salsa
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
1/2 Lemon
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
1 lime, divided
1/2 Clove Garlic
1 tsp Ginger

Season salmon with salt & pepper to taste and a spritz of lemon juice. Then in a covered non-stick skillet, saute for about 8 mins. Note: Salmon will continue cooking slightly when you take it out of the pan! Also good thing to know, when sauteing Salmon, heat the pan until a drop of water will sizzle on it then reduce heat to med-high and add Salmon, this will prevent the fish from sticking to the pan. When this is done cooking, place it on a dish and cover with tin-foil to keep warm.

While the salmon is sauteing, you can get started on your salsa! Grab another skillet and coat with olive oil. Bring stove top to med-high heat. Add garlic and saute 1 min, add ginger then saute another min. Add onion & jalepeno and saute for approx 6 mins. While this cooks you can check and see how your Salmon is coming along... Then add tomatos and saute for about 2 mins. Place salsa mixture in a small bowl and squeeze the juice of half the lime on top.

Plate the 4 Salmon filets and divide the salsa mixture over top. Serve w/ 1/2 c brown rice and garnish with a lime wedge. This meal is so delicious and the bright colors make it a real pick-me-up in the dark, cold winter!


http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/03/29/capsaicin-7-powerful-health-benefits-of-the-stuff-that-makes-peppers-hot-004.htm
http://salmonfacts.org/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lycopene/NS_patient-lycopene

Using Fresh Ginger- My Favorite Salad Dressing

Second to cinnamon, fresh ginger is my favorite ingredient to cook with! Ginger has long been known to be a great digestive aid. (Steeping a piece of fresh ginger root in hot water can do wonders to ease an upset stomach)
On top of attention for it's ability to ease digestive issues, ginger has also received more attention for benefits treating arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The main active components in ginger are anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols (Which also account for ginger's unique flavor). More support of ginger's anti-inflammatory benefits can be see by going to http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72#healthbenefits.
So now we know why ginger is so healthful.. how can we include it in our diets without having to drink cups of ginger tea everyday?... Below is an AWESOME salad dressing recipe from EatingWell.com. I make this about once every two weeks and get about 4 servings out of it. You only need about 1-2 tsp of the dressing to really add amazing flavor to any salad.

• 2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (or more to taste)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground fresh ginger
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Add to a salad with your favorite veggies and enjoy!