Last year I started The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes. My goal was to try the new food designated for each week and to blog about why others might want to try it too. Well, I didn’t quite finish it. 🙁 So I’ve decided to start it again. Many of the foods might not be “new” for me or for you, but I like the idea of trying new things and shaking up my day-to-day food routine.
Food Facts:
Good source of vitamins K, C, and A
Contains more than twice the the level of antioxidants of other leafy greens
Antioxidants include: beta-carotene, lute in, zeaxanthin
Good source of folate, fiber, manganese, potassium, copper, and calcium
It scores 1000/1000 on the ANDI score (a rating of nutrients per calorie)
Is good for preventing: cancer, cardiovascular disease, degenerative eye diseases, and stomach ulcers
Red leaf kale varieties have more nutrients than green leaf varieties
Has more calcium than milk!!!!!
Raw often has more nutrients
However, raw kale, like other raw cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels, etc.) can be goitrogenic, if you have thyroid problems – it is important that you eat cooked kale
For kale chips, 350 degrees produces the most nutrient chips
This week’s food is LAVENDER! While I really do love lavender (Just ask my husband, Jim) I don’t eat it very often. Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making lavender infused drinks – which sound absolutely divine! I have become quite famous on our Annual Cookie Bake Off for making lavender shortbread, which is quite spectacular. Have you tried cooking with lavender?
Facts
Lavender is very relaxing – it can help with sleep and it can relieve headaches
Lavender oil can be used to treat burns, heal rashes, and as a natural insect repellant
It is anti-bacterial
Bees love lavender! This is great because we need more honeybees (they are an at-risk species).
From The 52 New Food Challenge by Jennifer Tyler Lee
This week’s food is WATERMELON! I LOVE watermelon – this is quite exciting! Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making watermelon ice pops, watermelon smoothies, or [GET THIS] watermelon gazpacho – that sounds very exciting!! I love unique foods and unique food pairings and combinations. Some of my other favorite watermelon recipes include watermelon caprese salad, watermelon feta appetizers, and pickled watermelon rinds! What unique recipes have you tried with watermelon?
Food Facts
Watermelon is rich in lycopene – 40 percent more lycopene per ounce than ripe tomatoes and small watermelons have more lycopene than large watermelon
It also contains other antioxidants including beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and phenols
To choose the ripest melon: look for a melon that is beginning to lose the gloss and the “ground spot” should be yellow, not green or white
Antioxidant values continue increasing after the fruit has been picked – as long as they’ve stayed out of the fridge
It is in the Cucurbitaceae family and is closely related to squash, cantaloupe, and pumpkin
They are a good source of vitamins A, C, B5, and B6, biotin, thiamine, magnesium, potassium, and copper
High in fiber
Hydrating due to its high water content and is a diuretic
Lycopene has been shown to be protective against colon cancer and people with the highest levels of lycopene in their blood had a lower risk of stroke
Welp, I’ve fallen off the wagon. The “post a new food each week” wagon. But this week I’m getting back on the wagon. Rather than trying to play catch up for about 2-3 months worth of foods, I’m just going to start with the current food of the week: PEACHES!!
Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests that you grill peaches (I’ve done this: YUM!), make peach ice cream, or try making fruit leather. Recently I made some paleo turkey meatballs with Thai chili and peach jam. Jim said, “the peaches are what make this dish!”.
A little background: I started this challenge to encourage myself, a notoriously picky eater, to try and to LIKE more foods. This is my first post on the blog, but I’ve been posting these since December 2014 on my Facebook page and my Instagram page. I was a very picky eater as a kid, and although, I’m much less picky now, there are still more vegetables that I would like to ENJOY eating. From personal experience, I’ve found that the more often that I am exposed to a vegetable, the more I like it. This has been my experience with Kale, Beets, Tomatoes, and Cilantro.
Food Facts:
Peaches and nectarines are identical except for one gene – the “fuzziness” gene (it also happens to affect a couple of other minor traits)
Nectarines can spontaneously appear on peach trees and vice versa (WOW!)
Stone fruits, including peaches, are picked when unripe and continue ripening after being picked but if not kept in ideal conditions, they become mealy, brown, leathery, or dry. This is what causes most conventional grocery store peaches to leave people feeling disappointed. (read: buy your peaches at the farmers’ market)
White-fleshed peaches and nectarines have more antioxidants than yellow-fleshed peaches and nectarines
The white-fleshed fruits are also sweeter
Peaches and nectarines are consistently on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list, so you should buy organic and eat the skins (it is the most nutritious part)
Peaches and nectarines are good sources of vitamins A, C, and E, potassium, niacin, and copper. Peaches are also a good source of vitamin K and manganese
Good source of fiber
High in antioxidants – especially carotenoids and flavonoids (white-fleshed have less carotenoids)
Peach extract has been shown to inhibit breast cancer cell growth
They help to protect against Heart Disease, Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome
From The 52 New Food Challenge by Jennifer Tyler Lee, The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Super Foods by Tonia Reinhard
It also contains other antioxidants including beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and phenols