Lately I have found that the humble banana has taken a bad wrap and I don’t get it. Easy to transport, it comes to you fully wrapped in its own packaging and has a great taste. And yellow is the colour of happiness:) But esthetics aside bananas are very healthy. An average banana has about 3 grams of fibre and is high in potassium with a single banana averaging about 400 mg of potassium. Bananas are a good source of vitamin B6, manganese and vitamin C.
Most people open their bananas by bending the stem back but if you watch a monkey eat one, they open them from the other end. They are clever critters. No mushy tops!
The recipe included for you is a simple Banana Sushi. Easy and the kids love it! Just click on the recipe icon.
Fresh strawberries are plump, red and just a delicious summer treat. In Ontario strawberry season spans the months of June and July. Fun fact, strawberries are a member of the rose family. And here is another fun fact. Those ‘seeds’ that we see on the outside of strawberries aren’t actually seeds. They are the fruits of the strawberry plant and inside each of these tiny fruits are teeny tiny seeds. The red, fleshy part is the base of the flower.
Strawberries are a top antioxidant food making them a smart choice in a healthy diet. They are high in vitamin C and manganese and contain a good punch of fiber.
Strawberries continue to make the Dirty Dozen list. The Environmental Working Group is the author of the Dirty Dozen list and they reported in their 2017 release that a single sample of strawberries showed upwards of 20 different pesticides. Key take away, when and if possible buy your strawberries organic.
Popping these yummy berries like candy is the best way to eat them but if you want to change things up a bit here is simple, healthy recipe for Strawberry Jam. Just click on the recipe card below.
Rhubarb has a short harvesting season spanning from April to June. Its long slender stalks are the edible part of the plant. Its leaves are toxic and thus cannot be ingested.
Rhubarb’s health benefits include its vitamin A, C, K and calcium content as well as its high fiber content.
Raw rhubarb stalks are naturally tart so it’s almost always cooked or baked with some added sweetness.
The season is short so grab some now!
Here’s a delicious, healthy recipe for you to try using this seasonal gem!
The holidays are filled with fun, family and friends and often sprinkled with a showering of stress for many of us. And yes potlucks are a great way to take the load off hosts but they can pose a bit of a challenge for those who are contributing. How much is enough? Vegetarian or meat eaters? I don’t want my dish to be the only not touched! Stressful am I right?
So the goal is to present an appetizing dish to the majority (because let’s face it, you won’t please everyone) while not spending the day in the kitchen AND to gently stroke your ego by coming home with an empty tray.
So why not wraps and skewers? And especially if there will be kids at your function. They can cover the vegetarian crowd, the meat-eating crowd, the gluten-free crowd and if you really want to impress, you can even satisfy the vegan crowd.
The sky is the limit for your creative juices when it comes to what will actually go in to your wraps and on to your skewers. But I’ll share with you what I did this week.
Here is how I put my tray together.
For the wraps I combined tzatziki with feta cheese for the sauce. The vegetarian wraps were filled with quinoa, spiralized carrots, and julienne of red pepper, cucumber and red onion. Then topped with pea sprouts. For the protein in the meat wraps, I replaced the quinoa with chicken.
My skewers were simply pineapple and marinade shrimp, grilled and topped with coconut. The recipe is below or you can get it here.
Of course presentation is important so I cut my wraps on an angle to show the festive colours and then I simply garnished the tray with arugula.
And there you go. Your Potluck meal is done. Time to enjoy the party!
