Can't get over the peaches!

Some of the most beautiful, ripe peaches I've ever seen were at the Westside Farmers Market yesterday. I ate 2 while volunteering with set-up, then I was put on peach-grilling duty. If you have never grilled peaches, I suggest trying it immediately. Tonight, really. Grilling peaches accentuates their sweet flavor... cut them in half, pit them and grill them as they are, or sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on them as I did yesterday. The market folks gobbled 'em up!

Peaches offer lots of vitamins C and A, fiber (especially with the skin), as well as potassium, folate, and calcium.

As if you couldn't get enough of these juicy, fleshy treats, we're making peach jam in my cooking class later today. What's more, instead of sugar, we're using Xagave - a natural sweetener from the nectar of the agave plant. It's 1.4 times sweeter than sugar, so you use less (and save calories). Xagave is also low on the glycemic index, so it won't spike your blood sugar. It also has calcium and iron in it! Check out http://www.xagave.com/ for more information...

Freezer Peach Jam
Ingredients:
6 cups peaches
1 packet of no sugar pectin
1 to 1 1/2 cups Xagave
3/4 cup water

Directions:
Remove pits from peaches and crush them with potato masher or in a blender. Mix the peaches and Xagave in a bowl. Mix the water and pectin in a saucepan and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the pectin mixture to the peach mixture and stir well.

Pour the mixture into canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Put lids on the jars and let stand until jam is at room temperature. Store jam in the freezer for up to 1 year!

Zinc

I've been recently battling a cold, and everybody tells me, "Take Zinc!"... OK, what does that mean exactly?

Let me elaborate. Here are the things in our bodies that zinc is found in:
-Strong muscles
-White/red blood cells
-Eye retina
-Skin
-Liver
-Pancreas
-Kidneys
-Bones
-Semen
-Enzymes

So, as you can see, zinc is necessary for the proper function of many biochemical processes in your body. Taking zinc in the form of food or supplements can help boost your immune system and keep those colds at bay.

Failure to have enough zinc in the diet can also result in depression, skin problems like acne or excema, hair loss, diarrhea, bone and growth retardation, pale skin, fatigue, problems with wound healing and getting pregnant.

Yummy foods you can get tons of zinc from: Meat, oysters, turnips, beans and lentils, peas, peanuts, oats, almonds, whole wheat, pecans and pumpkin seeds.

Potatoes and Arugula

Arugula is a seasonal green with a strong, aromatic, often bitter flavor. It is rich in vitamin C and potassium and is a wonderful addition to a mesclun summer salad, but is also cooked with pasta, potatoes and meats.

Last night I made a rather delicious arugula and potato salad. It's easy and cheap and quick. Oh, and tasty.

Warm Arugula and baby potato salad

Ingredients (just eye-ball all of these!):
Arugula
Baby potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Lemon juice
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Wash potatoes and coat generously with olive oil and salt. Roast in the oven (uncovered) for 45 minutes (ish) at 375deg F. Take potatoes out and put them directly into large bowl containing washed arugula. The heat from the potatoes will wilt the arugula. Mix in fresh lemon juice (I used 1/2 of a lemon) and top with as much Parm as you can handle and enjoy!

Millions of Peaches

Peaches have arrived at the farmers market!!! I bought some yesterday with fuzzy red skin and soft, sweet orange flesh... ripe to perfection. Peaches are one of my favorite fruits to eat as a snack. They are so juicy (peaches are 80% water!) and a great source of fiber to fill you up and help "move things through".  :)

They're also high in Vitamin A, offering you lots of benefits for your vision and regulating proper cell growth (this means protecting you against lots of cancers!) Potassium is another nutrient abundant in peaches, helping to regulate blood pressure. This is an important thing for anyone with hypertensive or pre-hypertensive blood pressures!! We all love our salt, and to counterbalance all that salt, we need potassium.

For dessert tonight, try sliced peaches and blueberries with some vanilla yogurt! Nomnomnomnom
Or, if you're firing up the grill, try halving and pitting the peaches and throwing them on face down. Put sliced pineapple in the middle, or any other fruit you might have, and sprinkle with granola!

Buy Pesto Ingredients from the Farmers Market!

I'm pretty stoked about this:

Farmers Markets boost local economies:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110804/NEWS01/108040331/-1/RSS13

There's a special farmers market today on the front lawn of the Capitol building from 10-3. Stop by for lunch and local goodies! For more details, check out http://www.miffs.org/.

We bought some heirloom tomatoes yesterday, holy cow. What flavor! Can't wait for tomatoes to start falling from the sky (or the vine I suppose) so we can make some serious salsa. Meanwhile, they make a great addition to sandwiches with cucumber slices, raw kale, pickles, banana peppers, and homemade pesto (from all the basil in our garden!).

Willow's Garden Basil Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cups basil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped. Add basil and pulse. Add all other ingredients and pulse until everything is a fine, spreadable paste. Scrape the sides of the processor as needed.

Yeah, it's that easy to make pesto (and large amounts of it, too). Pesto also freezes very nicely, so instead of paying $3.50 for a tiny 3oz jar of pesto during the cold months, you can freeze a huge jar of it now and have it allll winter long.

Happier Meal

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/07/26/138702964/bowing-to-pressure-mcdonalds-makes-happy-meals-more-healthful

Hooray, McDonald's is re-vamping its Happy Meal on a more health-conscious level! Changes to the Happy Meal will start in September and include a downsize in the amount of french fries and choices of apple slices, carrot sticks, raisins and pineapple!

I'm ecstatic that McDonald's is finally getting serious about the food they serve to millions and millions of people every day. Many folks choose fast-food style restaurants because they're convenient, cheap, and taste good (due to high salt and fat contents). Unfortunately, this food directly contributes to many health disparities suffered by much of the Western population today. McDonald's has also agreed to tone down the sodium content by 15% in the next few years. I've been seeing billboards that say Mickey D's is using Michigan eggs as well. While I'm still not quite sure how to interpret that, it must be good for the mitten's economy anyhow.

I hope other popular fast-food chains jump on the wagon for healthier food options! This could be key to really starting to make a dent in America's obesity epidemic.