Alice Henneman, MS, Registered Dietitian and Extension Educator
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqred.htm
See “Red” on Valentine’s Day and throughout the year. The Produce for
Better Health Foundation (PBH) calls red fruits and vegetables
“Red-hot and Healthy.” They contain many health-promoting
phytochemicals including lycopene and anthocyanins. Some “red” fruits
and vegetables include red apples, cherries, cranberries, red grapes,
pink/red grapefruit, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, beets,
red cabbage, red peppers, radishes, red onions, rhubarb and tomatoes.
For additional red fruits and vegetables and recipes, check the PBH
Web site at http://www.5aday.com
Some “red” ideas for Valentine’s Day (or any day) include:
Pasta with tomato sauce
Tossed salad with red bell peppers
Tossed salad with cherry or grape tomatoes
Tomato soup
Cole slaw made with red cabbage
Cranberry sauce — use that bag of cranberries in your freezer that
you bought when they were on sale
Oatmeal topped with a heart shape made of dried cranberries
Raspberry smoothie — Put 3/4 to 1 cup plain or vanilla-flavored soy
yogurt in blender. Add a few tablespoons of frozen raspberries at a
time and blend until desired consistency. After blending, if desired,
blend in 1 or more teaspoons of sugar or artificial sweetener to
taste.
Pink/red grapefruit half topped with a sprinkle of brown sugar
Red grapes as a side dish to your sandwich for noontime nibbling
Strawberry Sauce
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, or partially thawed frozen
strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
In a blender, blend strawberries with lemon juice and sugar until
smooth.
Source: National Cancer Institute (NCI). For more recipes from NCI,
check www.5aday.gov