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    • Feb 22
    • 2 min read

Mastering the Art of Cutting Grapefruit and Why it Should Be a Regular Part of Your Diet



Pink grapefruit is the princess of winter fruits. It's sweet & pink, which makes it a perfect treat for the month of love.


Like all citrus fruits, grapefruit is high in vitamin C.


1/2 cup of grapefruit = 42mg vitamin C (1).

Toddlers age 1-3 need 15 mg per day (2).

1/2 cup grapefruit = 500% of what a toddler needs!



Vitamin C is important for:


healthy skin

a robust immune system

chronic disease prevention


Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants get rid of bad chemicals (oxidants) that float around in your blood and cells (3).


Vitamin C and other nutrients like furanocoumarins and lycopene in grapefruit are also thought to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes (4).


Simply put: Grapefruit is good for you, eat it while it is in season!!!


What's more important to me is that Grapefruit tastes good and looks pretty!



My second grader loooooves grapefruit. He eats one in his lunch almost every day from December through March, and often has one for an after school snack too.


I section grapefruit with a knife for him because the membrane between the juicy pulp is very tough and fibrous. It's very difficult to chew and can be a choking hazard for babies and toddlers.




To solve that problem, I've become adept at sectioning grapefruit with a knife.


I highly recommend practicing this skill if you love grapefruit and want your kids to love it too. Check out this video to see how:





I don't have any recipes for grapefruit, usually we eat them up plain (usually before they can even be gathered up into a bowl).


Enjoy this beautiful delicious fruit before they get expensive and dry. Grapefruit taste best and cost less when purchased between December and April.


I'll be back next week with tips for eating one of my favorite red foods: beets!




References:


  1. USDA Nutrient Database. FoodData Search. Grapefruit, raw, pink and red, florida. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/174675/nutrients

  2. Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Recommended Dietary Allowances and Adequate Intakes, Vitamins Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56068/table/summarytables.t2/?report=objectonly

  3. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2000. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9810.

  4. Hung WL, Suh JH, Wang Y. Chemistry and health effects of furanocoumarins in grapefruit. J Food Drug Anal. 2017 Jan;25(1):71-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jfda.2016.11.008. Epub 2016 Dec 6. PMID: 28911545; PMCID: PMC9333421.

    • Feb 7
    • 2 min read

Celebrate Valentines with Red and Pink Foods!

I have never been out to dinner on Valentines day. We don't exchange romantic gifts or get "lovey-dovey" on February 14th.


But we do still celebrate!


We make food in the shape of hearts (toast, pancakes, pizza).

We make heart shaped crafts.

We talk about what we love about eachother.


and


We eat a lot of red, pink and purple foods throughout the month: Bell Peppers, Grapefruit, Beets, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Grapes, Cabbage and Radishes!


On the blog this month, I'm going to highlight my favorite red and pink foods.


Starting with BELL PEPPERS.


I couldn't live without bell peppers. They are one of my top 10 favorite foods. Not only are they sweet and crunchy, but they are also super nutritious.




One bell pepper has about 150mg vitamin C, which is 160% of your daily need for vitamin C.

Vitamin C is important for you immune system, getting enough vitamin C can keep you healthy!


Bell peppers are also loaded with antioxidants that help prevent chronic disease like cancer. Eating a diet full of vegetables like bell peppers can keep your body healthy!



I'll often slice up a bell pepper and eat it raw. Bell peppers are sweet and crunchy, like apples, and make a perfect snack. Hummus, ranch or cream cheese dips go well with bell peppers.


This video shows the fastest way to cut a bell pepper (and a fun way to cut them into hearts for valentines day).





We usually eat bell peppers chopped up into salads. Bell peppers make a good substitution for raw tomatoes if you have tomato-haters at your house (my husband hates raw tomatoes). So when a recipe calls for tomatoes, I'll use bell peppers instead to make my family happy. Here are my favorite salad recipes that feature bell peppers:


RICE AND BEAN SALAD



BURRITO BOWLS



GREEK SALAD


PASTA SALAD



Bell peppers also add a sweet flavor to a few of my favorite soups:






If you happen to have a bell pepper that needs to be used, it's easy to add them into tacos, on top of pizza or in scrambled eggs.





Those are a few of my favorite bell pepper recipes.


Do you have a favorite way to eat bell peppers? Send me an email and let me know!

    • Jan 29
    • 1 min read

Budget Friendly Cooking Class

Feeding America reports that Americans waste 444 billion dollars of food every year (feedingamerica.org).


The most important thing you can do to cut your grocery bill is prevent food waste!!!


Here's one surefire way to prevent food waste: take a weekly inventory of what's in your fridge/pantry and plan meals using what you already have. I discussed this in my meal planning blog post a few weeks ago.


But there's an even easier way to prevent food waste: Freeze old food BEFORE it goes bad.


There are two foods that go bad very quickly: #1 bananas and #2 leafy greens


Luckily, these foods also freeze extremely well.


They also make the yummiest smoothie you've ever tasted when blended together with peanut butter and milk.


On February 27 from 5:30-6:00 pm, I will be teaching a live zoom cooking class about green smoothies and how to use your freezer to prevent food waste.


If you want to learn with me live on zoom, click this link to sign up (class is free): https://forms.gle/Gro8YGfg62BEG9bi9



You can purchase ingredients and cook along with me, or you can just login & listen.


Either way, you will learn tips and tricks for saving money while eating well.


Can't join me for class?


Here's a link to one of the recipes we will be making: https://www.ddinutrition.com/recipes-2/green-smoothie


Have great week!


Wondering what I've planned to eat this week?


Here's my menu (it's typed up this week because I'm going to be away from home all week, and I needed everything to be very organized for the babysitter):


day

dinner

TUES

Tortellini soup

Rolls from the freezer

Apple slices

WED

Lasagna 

Option: bread from the freezer

Green beans from the freezer

Orange slices


*take barbacoa pork out of freezer for friday

THUR

Beef Stew

Rolls from your freezer

Apple slices


*take white chx chili out of freezer for saturdat

FRI 

Pork tacos (freezer meal, just reheat)

Sliced cabbage, chopped radishes, corn tortillas, avocados, salsa

Canned pineapple

SAT

Lunch: white chix chili w/leftover toppings from tacos last night + chips + frozen mangoes


Dinner: leftovers/clean out the fridge

SUN

Lunch: tomato soup/cheese sand/apple slices


Dinner: waffles + eggs or whatever you wanna make











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