Posts Tagged ‘antioxidants’

Tasty Tuesday: SALSA!!

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

We got some lovely Roma tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market this weekend. As soon as I saw them I felt inspired to make SALSA. Homemade salsa with chips is definitely a family favorite…and boy do we like our salsa chunky! Here a basic salsa recipe that I have been making for 14 years. Wowzers, am I really old enough to have a 14 year old recipe? Guess so!

Ingredients:

6 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 small sweet onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 bunch green onion, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed and chopped

lime juice to taste

salt to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Salsa taste best if refrigerated 1/2 before serving, although it’s fine to dig right in if you cannot wait.

Salsa-making tips:

  • You can never have enough cilantro…when in doubt, add more!
  • Don’t substitute other varieties of tomatoes; stick with Romas as they truly make the best salsa
  • Be sure to remove the seeds from your jalapeno unless you like your salsa super spicy
  • Be careful when cutting the jalapeno to minimize exposure to your skin. Wear gloves if possible (I often use a plastic baggie in a pinch). If the juices from the jalapeno get onto your skin, it will tingle/burn for a while. Also it’s painful if it gets in your eye or nose.
  • If you don’t have a lot of time or patience for chopping ingredients by hand, you can make salsa in your blender. Pulse tomatoes gently or else your salsa will be very bubbly/watery. If I am in a hurry I might pulse a few of the tomatoes in the blender, along with the other ingredients, and then hand-chop the remaining tomatoes. This helps keep the consistency on the chunky side, but speeds up the process. I do prefer to chop everything by hand so this method is reserved for emergency purposes only. (you know how those salsa emergencies can be ;))
  • Play with the flavoring to create new salsas. You can add chopped pineapple or mango for a sweeter salsa. You could add garlic powder or garlic salt (but not fresh garlic) if you like the taste of garlic. You can use different peppers to experiment with the heat level.

Fresh homemade salsa not only taste spectacular, it’s also a healthy snack. The tomatoes are packed full of antioxidants so don’t be shy about enjoying your homemade salsa and chips…heck I don’t even need the chips; I can eat homemade salsa by the spoonful! 🙂

Do you have a favorite salsa recipe? Care to share your secrets for delicious salsa? Would love to hear some fresh ideas!

-Sarah

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Tasty Tuesday: A Very Berry Valentine Snack

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

I am so in love with pomegranates right now! They are deliciously sweet and refreshing…and beautiful! Yes, I just called a fruit beautiful, but it’s true. I think the seeds look like bright sparkly edible ruby red jewels. YUM!

Now I admit that I used to be really intimidated by pomegranates. I rarely bought them because I didn’t really know how to remove the seeds. The few times I attempted it I was covered in red juice and had about 8 seeds to show for it. So I kind of just avoided them all together. Then one day at the grocery store my five year old asked me if we could buy a pomegranate after admiring a display of them. Rarely do I say no to a request for a fruit or vegetable (maybe after consuming six oranges and asking for a 7th, I would say no) so I let him pick one out. Of course right when we got home he asked if we could eat it. At which point we hopped on the computer to look for video demonstrations on youtube to learn how to remove the seeds. There are two main ways; soaking in water or beating with a spoon. I alternate between the two methods because while beating with a spoon is faster, it’s also messier. Little red specks of pomegranate juice fly everywhere so definitely wear old clothing or an apron when working with pomegranates.

In addition to being delicious, pomegranate seeds are super high in antioxidants. They are considered by many to be one of the ‘powerhouse foods” meaning they actually help prevent diseases.  Another neat thing about pomegranates is they have a rather long shelf-life. Properly stored a pomengranate can last up to two months. I know this is true because back when I would buy them and not know what to do with them, they would sit in my fridge a LONG time. Therefore if you find pomengranates at a good price, buy a bunch to enjoy over the next several weeks!

The following recipe is so easy that even a young child could put it together once the seeds have been removed from the pomegranate. Their rich coloring make them perfect for a Valentine snack so I thought this would be a fun, kid-friendly, and healthy snack to bring to a Valentine’s party.

Ingredients:

1 pint Blueberries

1 pint Blackberries

Seeds from one pomengranate

2 to 3 Tablespoons Hemp Seed

2 to 3 Tablespoons Chia Seed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and voila, it’s ready to eat now or later! This is a snack my family really enjoys and I hope yours does too! 🙂

-Sarah

Check back tomorrow for some ideas to honor the end of a breastfeeding relationship!

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