Nothing Like a Sweet Date

Oh have I got a fancy snack for you when you are looking forward to a romantic nibble.  Or just a snack that will impress your friends. It can be a bit pricey but oh so worth it.  Have you ever tried a fresh date?  They are delicious pieces of fruit, especially if you have a sweet tooth.  And once you take a bite you'll have a hard time believing these little treasures actually have a lot of health benefits. 

First what is a date?  They are fruits from certain palm trees that look like an oversized raisin with some plumpness.  At least the Medjool kind do.  The dates tend to run a bit expensive.  I usually have found them close to eight dollars for a pound or a little over a pound (Roughly thirty - forty dates).  However, on one of shopping trips in search of our new produce we found I believe the package is 18 oz for 4.99.  Well for that price we had to try these sweet jewels.  Yum! 

Now  a lot of sites on the web recommended eating them raw.  As long as you remove the pit.  You can keep the dates in a cupboard but if you store them in your fridge they last quite a bit longer.  Don't be scared of depitting these fruits.  Just start to  slit the tip as if you were slicing lengthwise.  But just starting to slice.  And you can open the slit far enough to slip out the pit.  The pit looks like a piece of a pecan.  Don't be tempted to taste it though.  They are inedible.  Most recipes recommending slipping in a nut or a cheese.  As dates are awfully sweet it is good to have a salty component.  Also dates by themselves contain NO sodium.  So if you  like your snacks to have some salt you'll have to add that component. 

However, being it was New Year's Day yesterday and our favorite team was playing we opted for a fancier snack.  Since you already have to remove the pit, you might as well stuff the date.   We bought some Brie cheese. Just a little dab into each date.  Then we chose to wrap the dates with a little prosciutto. Oh so good!  Prosciutto is an Italian ham. But not just deli ham.  There is a special process of curing/drying meat depending on the region and the slices are usually pretty delicate we have found.  Just a little bit of that rich fattiness to cover this sweet date filled with a smooth delicate cheese.  Italy meets the tropics meets France; what a beautiful world.  We put them in the oven on 375 degree F for roughly fifteen minutes.  This allowed the date to gooey its sweetness and allowed the meat to release its saltiness and the cheese to soften.  So delicious for a romantic game snack.  I liked the warmth to allow the flavors to blend and to soften the date.  Just handling the date to pit them you can feel the stickiness.  By wrapping the date, the sweet wasn't overpowering and yet had a luxurious texture. 

Some great benefits of the date include extremely small amounts of fat, obviously no cholesterol, some protein and yes it is mainly carbohydrates but a lot of that is fiber.  Because of other vitamins and minerals it includes dates are actually low on the glycemic index as they help regulate blood sugar.  So for those out there who have a sweet tooth but are worried about blood sugars this might be a snack to try,  especially if you stuff the date fruit with a nut.  Also a date is a good source of potassium, calcium, iron, and copper. (See http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/dates.html and http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/natural-foods/natural-weight-loss-food-dates-ga.htm for more nutritional information.)

This was definitely a thumbs up pick for my hubby and me.  I have a sweet tooth and I was a little worried for how sweet the fruit may be.  But with the way we prepared it, even my hubby who prefers spicy or salty over sweet enjoyed this find. 

May your HealthFULL Journey include fun discoveries and moments worth repeating. 'Til we meet again. . .

The Art of the Salad

Ahhh! Salad can be the tastiest meal and fairly easy to make.  Now if you are thinking of plain old lettuce as salad, no that's lettuce.  A salad is a wonderful conglomerate of whatever you want to combine.  If I was to title the salads my husband and I make it would have to be along the lines "The Kitchen Sink - Fridge - Pantry Salad".  Start grabbing supplies and mix it all together.  And what is great about individual salads.  Do you like raspberries?  No, leave them off and I'll add extra because I do like them.  I would say to fix a truly satisfying meal salad our household follows an adaptable formula.  Greens + veggie + fruit + filler/protein + crunchy and then topped with dressing.  Sounds like a lot doesn't it?  Its your whole meal make it tasty and filling.  It does no good to eat a plate of lettuce without dressing and call it supper but before going to bed you are starving and down a triple scoop ice cream sundae with extra hot fudge.  You would have saved a lot of calories and a ton of empty calories if you had a more filling supper. 

Let's start with the greens, I am going to be completely honest.  We usually start with a bagged salad.  They are so easy to pour, split in half and build a great foundation.  Some packages come with a mix of greens, some assorted veggies, or beautiful rinsed baby spinach.  Now some of these packages you should re-rinse your greens and I know a lot of people say you should always wash your lettuce/greens yourself.  Again I confess sometimes/most times, the salad mix comes straight out of the bag and on to the plate.  Great start.  If iceberg is the only lettuce you will eat because it has little flavor , so be it.  But I so strongly encourage a deeper green especially as you are going to top it with so many goodies.  Baby spinach is a great foundation and packed with tons of vitamins (folate powerhouse for those who are upping your folic acid intake and iron).  Be like pop-eye :)  Also there are tons of other great choices and if the change is too scary.  Half of a darker green with the comfort and safety of your iceberg.  You might realize how your light lettuce carries no extra flavor and is boring like ice.  (No wonder you don't like salads.)  But moving on.  The theory of nutrition, the darker the color the more vitamins and minerals it holds.  (Iceberg borderline white, light green compared to the deep green of spinach.) 

Next up what kind of veggies.  So many choices. Big favorites in our house: our colored bell peppers (we included an orange one tonight).  I just slice them or dice them, slices give you a little more crunch, the diced makes the salad look festive with confetti.  Sliced mushrooms give you that meaty texture you might crave. Tomatoes tend to be a favorite.  I prefer cherry or grape for convenience and flavor.  Grape tomatoes I just wash them and throw them on the plate.  And cherry I tend to wash and slice into halves. Carrots shredded and cucumber slices (I know cucumber is a fruit but then so is a tomato, they just fit better into this section) and a mellow flavor with great texture.  If you like sweeter tastes add beet slices; they do stain whatever they touch so make sure you cut them into bite size pieces before adding them to the salad masterpiece.

Let's discuss fruit.  Ohhhhhhh have I mentioned how much I love summer produce?  Melons, berries galore, thank you!!! I love every kind of berry.  And all berries mix well into a salad.  We added strawberries to ours tonight and some cherries.  Usually we have blueberries on hand and I finished our raspberries last night for my bedtime snack or they would have been on my plate tonight.  Pomegranate seeds can be fun on a salad crunchy while still a tad juicy, tart, and sweet.  This was how I tried kumquats on a spinach salad.  Orange sections can be quite good in a simple salad.  I am very picky with my citrus mixes as I tend to not like that sour bite that's almost bitter.  So very few flavors do I mix with oranges.  Grapes especially seedless and half add a good juicy bite to your salad.  And apples can add a bit of sweet crunch.  But hands down we tend to use berries the most.   

Filler/Protein - Choices, lots and lots of choices.  My hubby and I really like hard-boiled egg in our salad. We also like chickpeas/ garbanzo beans (we used canned after we rinse them thoroughly and then just plop a handful on your salad - so good!) which is filling and gives a unique bite; not quite a crunchy texture but that makes you bite down.  We also have tried grilled chicken and grilled shrimp.  Grilling the meat gives it that perfect flavor for a salad.  It's simple but retains its moistness.  We had grilled chicken tonight.  And then numerous cheese choices depending on what other ingredients you have.  I went shopping at my favorite store today and picked through the Bit O' Cheese basket.  My own little special pick-me-up.  And the winner was Manchego gently grated over the chicken.  *humming* Yes quite tasty. 

Crunchy - Absolutely the key component in our household.  What little ingredient will make our salad sing?  We use a variety of nuts for this component.  Obviously if you have a nut allergy steer clear but if not, options upon options.  Also wasabi peas are a good bet.  They add sweetness with a kick.  Just don't ever add them early on and then let your salad sit and then take a bite.  They become mushy and no longer that crunch one craves in a salad.  Always a crowd pleaser = croutons.  Some other items that may be hanging out in your cabinets that would work, seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flax), pretzels (if you really like that saltiness),and  sesame sticks. 

Then top with your favorite dressing.  We usually stick with ranch, creamy with a bit of spice.  I also tend to mix it up with a variety of different vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar and olive oil the most popular as we tend to have big bottles of both on hand at all times.)  Now again the beauty of a salad is it can totally echo your favorites.  Perhaps I gave you a helpful suggestion but by all means you are the one biting down.  Make it what you like.  Let your ingredients play off each other, let the colors splatter the plate, for this is your chance to create art.  Forget mom's scolding and play with your fruits and veggies. Because after a couple of choices you have a tasty and somewhat healthy (depending on those choices) satisfying meal full of beautiful colors.  Bravo on your masterpiece.

May your HealthFULL Journey guide you to your preferences and inspire you to choose in a way that both delights you and creates a healthier you.  'Til we meet again. . .