12 Weeks of Healthy Food: The Tomato

It's Week 5 of our 12 Weeks of Healthy Food at Daisy Mae's Market at Findlay Market, and we're featuring the tomato. No matter whether you classify it as a fruit or a vegetable, the tomato is pretty darn good for you. Tomatoes are high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, but those are only two of the nutritional benefits. Tomatoes are also good sources of Vitamin K, potassium, and iron. However, the real health value in the tomato seems to be its lycopene. Lycopene is a vital anti-oxidant that helps fight cancer cell formation, and tomatoes have the highest lycopene levels of all fruits and vegetables. Researchers have shown lycopene protects against colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers so tomatoes offer an inexpensive way to add this possible extra layer of protection. And here's even more good news---Cooking the tomatoes actually releases more lycopene, and cooking tomatoes in olive oil increases the absorption of lycopene into your body.
So what are you waiting for? Get to Findlay Market and get some free tomatoes with your $15 purchase this week (1/30/12-2/3/12). While you're there, pick up a few of the other ingredients for some Classic Minestrone soup. Not only will minestrone soup taste great on a winter day, but it will also be another way to add a dose of good health to your diet.

Orange You Glad You Read This?

I've always told my family to drink lots of orange juice when they feel a cold coming on. I'm pretty sure I got that wisdom from my own mother who probably got it from her mother. As it turns out, it's not an "old wives' tale" or "old moms' tale" after all. Oranges are loaded with health benefits.
A single orange can fulfill about 100% of the daily requirement for Vitamin C, and research has shown that the flavonoids, or plant nutrients, found in an orange are potentially beneficial to the human body. The flavonoids trigger enzymes that fight disease so oranges really do offer immune support. In addition, studies have shown that the white part under the peel of an orange may be a good antioxidant.  Additional research says that oranges may lower cholesterol, prevent ulcers, improve eyesight, and help with digestion. Since they come in their own little package that's easy to peel, oranges are a handy snack and can serve as a quick thirst quencher whether eaten whole or squeezed for the juice.
You'll find lots of creative recipes that use citrus fruit on the Sunkist website. You can get everything you need at Findlay Market to make many of those recipes.  If you shop today through Friday (1/25/12-1/27/12) and spend at least $15 at Daisy Mae's Market, we'll even toss in some oranges for free. For starters, try this Winter Orange Salad recipe. 

12 Weeks of Healthy Food: The Carrot

What's up, Doc? Maybe nothing's up with the Doc if you've been eating your carrots. Yes, carrots are the featured item for Week 3 of our 12 Weeks of Healthy Food. Bugs Bunny loves 'em and so do we!
Carrots are high in Vitamin A and also a good source of Vitamins K and C, dietary fiber, and potassium. Just like Mom said, carrots really can help you see better. The beta-carotene gives them their color and also helps convert Vitamin A in the body to improve vision...especially at night. Carrots are also an antioxidant, and numerous studies show that carrots reduce the risk of certain cancers. In one study, one carrot per day cut the lung cancer rate in half. Now I'm not saying that carrots are a cure for cancer, but I certainly don't see anything harmful in eating a few carrots each day.
Raw carrots are great for snacking or in salads. But did you know by cooking carrots you increase the nutritional benefits? Cooking breaks down the cellular nature of the carrot so the body can absorb the nutrients better. So if you're looking to cook up a carrot dish tonight, here's a delicious recipe for Glazed Carrots that I recommend. Stop by Daisy Mae's Market at Findlay Market this week (1/17/12-1/20/12) and receive a free 1 lb. bag of carrots with your $15 purchase.
That's all, folks!

12 Weeks of Healthy Food: The Sweet Potato

It's Week 2 of our 12 Weeks of Healthy Food. This week we climb to the top of the nutritional chart with sweet potatoes. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) ranks the sweet potato #1 in nutrition for vegetables. The sweet potato's ranking is based on its dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars, complex carbohydrates, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, protein, iron, and calcium all packed into a low-calorie food. We also know that the orange coloring of the sweet potato is caused by betacarotene---a powerful antioxidant. In addition, a baked sweet potato supplies about 20% of an adult's daily potassium requirement, and research has shown that potassium can help regulate blood pressure, reduce the risk of kidney stones, and even decrease bone loss. Sweet potatoes have also been shown to improve blood sugar regulation even in persons with Type 2 diabetes. So if you thought sweet potatoes were only for Thanksgiving, you're wrong!
Sweet potatoes can be baked, roasted, fried, steamed, broiled, or grilled. They're relatively inexpensive, and they make a great addition to soups and stews, too. There's really no excuse not to add sweet potatoes to your weekly grocery list.
Stop by Daisy Mae's at Findlay Market Tuesday through Friday this week (1/10/12-1/13/12) and receive a free sweet potato with your $15 purchase. Now isn't that a sweet deal?

12 Weeks of Healthy Food

I've come to think of the 12 Days of Christmas as the 12 Days of Overindulgence. If your schedule has at all resembled ours, we've been eating and drinking more in the last few weeks than we have in the previous few months combined. It's time to get back into a more regular routine for meals. It's time to resolve to eat healthy in 2012.

We, at Daisy Mae's Market, are doing our part to encourage you to develop some healthy eating habits. For the next 12 weeks, we will feature one especially nutritious fruit or vegetable each week. We'll write about it; we'll tweet about it; we'll share recipes using our healthy food of the week. And best of all, with a $15 purchase on any Tuesday-Friday at our Findlay Market location or delivered to you, we'll be giving you that week's featured fruit or vegetable absolutely FREE.

So make your resolution now...Resolve to plan your meals better. Shop at Daisy Mae's at Findlay Market or place an order for Daisy's Delivery of fresh produce. Prepare healthier foods for you and your family in 2012. Make it a Happy, Healthy New Year! 

To be added to our email list for weekly updates that include our 12 Weeks of Healthy Food promotions, send your email address to daisymae@daisymaesmarket.com.