Veggie you should eat this summer

Healthy Food Bytes: Veggie you should be eating this summer:

Summer is such a fun time for experimenting with a variety of fruit and vegetables. There are so many options to choose from. Here is one of a few ideas I will be posting to spruce up your summer dishes in a refreshing and healthful way.

Summertime is really not the time for heavy stews and chilies. It’s time to experiment with salads and lightly grilled foods.

Spinach contains a wealth of antioxidant carotenoids that may help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration. It’s also a great source of calcium and folate, a b-vitamin that helps to prevent birth defects, so expecting moms – eat up. Conventionally grown spinach has a lot of pesticides, so buy organic if you can.


Ideas for you:

Asian spinach Salad - toasted slivered almonds, crunchy wanton noodles (sparingly), mandarin oranges, and some bean spouts – toss in your favorite Asian vinaigrette – many recipes online.

Warm Spinach Salad – grill or saute red onion, zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms, sweet corn – season with sea salt and pepper; pour over spinach to wilt lightly and add your favorite vinaigrette.

Fruity Spinach Salad – go wild with berries on top of your spinach salad – add blueberries, strawberries and/or raspberries; add some nuts for protein – walnuts, pecans and or slivered almonds; toss in raspberry vinaigrette.



Thanks for reading healthy food bytes.

Irradiation and GMF

Healthy Food Bytes: Irradiation and GMF

Irradiation of food is now being used in food production. Basically, it’s a new way to get rid of nuclear waste – why not use it in our food supply, right? While it has its benefits, killing all bacteria in food and doesn’t leave radiation in the food, there are specific reasons why this may not be a good idea. Some foods lose nutritional value such as vitamin A, thiamine, and riboflavin. Also, foods that have been irradiated contain molecules found nowhere in nature. So, you’re eating “mystery molecules” and we have no idea how that will affect human health long-term. The FDA calls them “radiolytic by-products. Some are known, such as the well known carcinogens formaldehyde and benzene. And some are “unique radiolytic by-products,” – which should be renamed to “we don’t know what the heck it is” by-products. No one knows long term effects of these “unknown” by-products. Also, do we need more nuclear facilities spread throughout the country? I say, leave our food alone and let’s eat it the way God intended it to be eaten. Same goes for genetically modified foods (GMF).

One thing I don’t like about GMF is that they are not labeled. So you don’t know if something is genetically modified or not. Basically, food technologist are splicing genes and altering natural process of foods so that they will last longer on your shelves, grow bigger, and make them more pest resistant. For one, we all know what happens to food when it sits on your self for long periods of time – the nutrients are depleted. Again, there is no long-term testing to see what affect this has on human health. So, eat at your own risk. One surefire way to avoid irradiated foods and or GMF is to buy organic.

Thanks for reading Healthy Food Bytes.