Trading Up Downtown

Garlic, with a NuVal score of 91, is famous for its pungent smell that can linger… and linger. Of course, this fine in your kitchen– I mean, who doesn’t love the smell of garlic when you’re cooking– but on your breath or your hands, that strong garlic smell is not so great.

According to Sheryl Barringer, Ph.D., a professor of food science and technology at Ohio State University, “The same sulfuric compounds in garlic that benefit your health circulate to the lungs and are exhaled with your breath, leaving you with dragon mouth for several hours” [source]. Interesting, right? Well, how do you get rid of strong garlic odor? Woman’s Health gives these tips to ward off the unpleasant smell:

Chew on a sprig of parsley: The chlorophyll in it works as a natural breath refresher.

Drink milk: Research suggests that sipping milk before or during garlic eating also decreases the   amount of odor coming out of your mouth.

Use lemon: To remove garlic stink from your hands or cutting board, try rubbing them with a wedge of lemon or on a stainless-steel surface such as a faucet.

Speaking of garlic, parsley, and lemon, here’s a delicious and nutritious recipe that includes all three of these high-scoring ingredients!

Lemon-Garlic Marinated Shrimp

Recipe from EatingWell.com

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons minced garlic (NuVal score: 91)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (NuVal score: 99)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (NuVal score: 99)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds cooked shrimp (NuVal score: 75)

Preparation

Place garlic and oil in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with shrimp in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

For dinner one night last week, I made this recipe for Lemon-Garlic Marinated Shrimp. Once it finished cooking, I mixed it with Israeli couscous and cannellini beans to make a complete meal. It turned out great in no time at all!

 Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered this week’s giveaway! Here’s your winner: 77!

Congrats, Katie! Please email me at thaupert@nuval.com with your full name and mailing address to claim your prize.

Happy belated Easter! How was your Easter Sunday?

For Easter Sunday, my grandmother hosted a big ol’ brunch at her house for all of our family. A large group for brunch meant that a lot of food was needed, so I offered to bake a loaf of Mango Tea Bread to contribute to the brunch spread.

Mangoes score a 93 on the NuVal scale, so my recipe for Easter brunch was a (mostly) nutritious one! Beside mango, the recipe for Mango Tea Bread called for a bunch of other nutritious ingredients, including banana (NuVal score: 91), crushed pineapple (NuVal score: 24), unsweetened shredded coconut (NuVal score: 23), and eggs (NuVal score: 33).

The recipe for Mango Tea Bread was really easy to make. It was a quick bread, so besides pureeing the mango in a food processor, all I had to do to make it was add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and blend well into a batter.

I ended up doubling the recipe, so I could bring a loaf of bread and some muffins to my grandmother’s house. Let’s just say there was a lot of batter!

Mango Tea Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped fresh mango (NuVal score: 93), from 1 large ripe mango
• 2 1/2 cups  King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (NuVal score: 67), plus more for dusting
• 3/4 cup sugar (NuVal score: 1)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 banana (NuVal score: 91), mashed
• 1/2 cup drained Del Monte canned crushed pineapple in its own juice (NuVal score: 24)
• 1/4 cup expeller-pressed canola oil
• 2 eggs (NuVal score: 33)
• 1/4 cup Full Circle shredded unsweetened coconut (NuVal score: 23)

Method

Place dried mango in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak 30 minutes. Drain well in a colander, pressing to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Chop rehydrated mango and set aside. Place chopped fresh mango in a blender and blend until pureed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a 9-x5-inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together mango puree, banana, pineapple, oil and eggs. Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently stir in soaked dried mango and coconut and mix just until they are evenly distributed. Pour batter (it will be thick) into pan and bake until a knife comes clean from the center, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Loosen sides from pan, remove and let loaf cool completely.

My Mango Tea Bread and muffins turned out wonderfully, and they were a big hit with my family at Easter brunch! Hooray!

Spring has sprung here in the Northeast! Hooray! The weather has been absolutely beautiful with temps in the mid-to-upper 70′s, which is very uncharacteristic of our usual March weather… but, hey, I’m not complaining!

Now that the warm weather has arrived, I’m on a serious smoothie kick. Of course, I love how they taste– they’re smooth, cool, creamy– but I also love that smoothies can be a really nutritious meal or snack. Just think about all of the high-scoring ingredients that you can add to them! Some of my favorites include:

• Frozen bananas (NuVal score: 91)
• Rolled oats (NuVal score: 57)
• Blueberries (NuVal score: 100)
• Almond Breeze Unsweetened Organic Non-Dairy Beverage (NuVal score: 90)
• Cooked quinoa (NuVal score: 91)
• Ground flaxseed meal (NuVal score: 100)
• Teddie Unsalted Old Fashioned Natural Peanut Butter (NuVal score: 49)
• Chobani Non-Fat Plain Greek yogurt (NuVal score: 94)
• Spinach (NuVal score: 100)
• Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin (NuVal score: 94)

As you can see, a homemade smoothie can cover a multitude of your nutritional needs for the day. Plus, with so many ingredient options, it’s tough to get bored with them. The possibilities are endless!

With that said, here are three smoothie recipes that I’ve been loving lately!

Coconut-Kale Smoothie

I can’t put my finger on exactly why I love this smoothie so much (besides the obvious: it’s super delicious and super nutritious), but it tastes very ‘tropical.’ The coconut flavor is fairly dominate, but the sweetness of banana and honey seem to mellow it out. It’s just really tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen chopped kale
• 1 banana
• 1.5 cups coconut milk
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp coconut extract
• 1 handful ice

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Drink and enjoy!

Blueberry-Tofu Smoothie

Recipe from Health.com

“Soy’s biggest nutritional claim to fame is it’s a complete protein, meaning it’s one of the only plant proteins that contains all nine essential amino acids our bodies need from our diets to function properly.”

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen blueberries (NuVal score: 100)
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Nasoya silken tofu (NuVal score: 100)
• 1/2 cup POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice (NuVal score: 9)
• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1 tablespoonagave nectar or honey

Directions: In a blender, combine ingredients; blend until smooth.

Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie

One of my favorite smoothies involves mashed sweet potato. Yep, you heard right: sweet potato. Sweet potatoes get a 96 on the NuVal scale, but would they taste good in a smoothie? Well, yes, they do! I promise!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato (NuVal score: 96)
• 1 ripe banana (NuVal score: 91)
• 1/4 cup non-fat plain Chobani Greek yogurt (NuVal score: 94)
•  1/4 cup Vanilla Light Silk Soymilk (NuVal score: 82)
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup ice
• Dash of nutmeg

Directions: Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth.

Want more smoothie recipes? Here are a few more favorites: Gingerbread Smoothies, Banana Bread Smoothies, and Pumpkin Pie Smoothies. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite smoothie combination?