Weekly Wellness
Issue 257
Featured Article
Easy Ways to Eat More Fruit -- Simple suggestions for you to get more fruit in your diet.
Fitness Tip
Walking
Walking even just a few minutes every day can help regulate high blood pressure. According to the Surgeon General and the American Heart Association, adopting a routine of daily physical activity can help reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, or help you lower it if it's already too high. Walking also significantly reduces your risk of dying from coronary artery disease or a heart attack (exercise has as much effect as quitting smoking), and makes your heart stronger and more efficient, so that it pumps more blood with each contraction.
Nutrition Tip
Picking the Best Canned Soup
Keep your eye on the total fat -- it should be no more than 3 grams. Some canned cream soups pack a whopping 25 grams. Others pour almost an entire day's worth of sodium in one can; if a can has more than 500mg of sodium, put it back. Try to choose soups that don't skimp on vitamin A (with its cancer-fighting phytochemicals); look for at least 30 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin A. Also try to find at least 3g of fiber. Broth- and vegetable-based choices are generally best bets.
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quote:
"A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety". -- Aesop
Quick Recipe
Chickpea and Parsley Salad
Whisk together 2-tablespoons bottled red wine vinaigrette and 2-teaspoons Dijon-style mustard in large bowl. Add one can (19 ounces) rinsed and drained chickpeas or garbanzo beans, 1-pint halved grape tomatoes, 1-1/2 cup finely chopped parsley and 1/3-cup thinly sliced green onions. Toss to coat. Add red-tip Boston lettuce salad and sourdough bread, if desired, to round out a great meal.
Tidbit(s)
Baker's Treat
Is the secret to delicious low-fat treats already be in your pantry? When used in baking, applesauce helps lower the overall fat content of some of your favorite muffins, bars, quick breads and cakes. When you're adapting a high-fat recipe to low-fat healthfulness, start by replacing two-thirds of the original's butter or margarine with unsweetened applesauce. Like fat, a fruit puree fat replacement such as applesauce coats the starchy flour particles in baking. Without this step, gluten forms when the flour is moistened and stirred, making the end result tough.
Food Fixes
Salted cold water will cool a hot dish more rapidly than plain cold water.
To cut very fresh bread and cake without crumbling, use a thin-bladed knife heated slightly.
Add nuts to your fruit salad for a more satisfying snack.
More Quick Cooking Tips Online!