Marymount School

Winter 2012

The Health Benefits of Pomegranates

The pomegranate is an extraordinary fruit, steeped in history and perhaps one of our oldest fruits. Ancient Egyptians buried their dead with pomegranates because they believed it offered eternal life. Even today some cultures use pomegranates at wedding celebrations and for good luck. There are many varieties of pomegranates with colors ranging from yellow-orange to deep reddish-purple. When choosing a pomegranate it should be plump and round with a rich, fresh color, free of cuts or blemishes. Pomegranates will not continue to ripen once picked, so once harvested they will not continue to produce sugar.

Every pomegranate fruit contains about 840 little, juicy seeds inside. This is the part of the fruit which is eaten. The seeds are compacted in honeycomb layers, separated by white paper thin membranes which are bitter to the tongue. This thin white membrane and the course outer peel are not eaten; however in certain cultures they are uses as medicinal remedies.

Today researchers are discovering the truth beyond the myths of this power fruit, proving why this exotic fruit has claimed such a fabled place in cultures throughout the ages. Here is a list of the health benefits:

High in antioxidants which may lower the risk of heart disease, reduce cholesterol and fight cell damage
High in vitamins and enzymes, especially vitamin C and potassium which help support the immune system
May increase oxygen levels in the heart which helps maintain proper oxidative balance in your body
May reduce the inflammation of arthritis by slowing down the enzymes that breakdown cartilage
Contains bioflavonoids to help maintain healthy capillary walls

To get the most out of a pomegranate, eat the seeds while they’re at their freshest and juiciest, and at the peak of their medicinal powers. Their season runs from October to February.

Some people suck the juice out and spit out the seed. It is a personal choice but it is beneficial to eat the entire seed. Most of the beneficial fiber actually comes from the seed.

Pomegranate seeds are simply bursting with a delicious, pleasant, slightly acidic flavor that has all the sweetness of cranberries without the tartness.

They can be eaten simply as a delicious healthy snack or sprinkled on salads or used as a base in sauces.

Here are two delicious winter salad recipes using pomegranates. ENJOY!

Pomegranate, Fennel & Apple Salad

2 fennel bulbs, sliced crosswise into thin strips
2 apples, cored and sliced (peeling optional)
seeds of half of a large pomegranate
juice of ½ lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoon honey

Directions:
For the dressing, mix together honey, lemon and olive oil.
Put apples, fennel and pomegranate in a bowl.
Distribute evenly, so the beautiful pomegranate seeds are visible on top!
Add the dressing, and a grind of pepper and a dash of salt, if desired.

This salad would also be lovely with some blood oranges or fresh clementine sections.

Pomegranate Quinoa Salad

For Salad:
1 cup quinoa
1 ½ cups of water
1 tsp salt
1 pound celery, thinly sliced
seeds of 1 pomegranate
3/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted, and chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

For Vinaigrette:
¼ cup pomegranate juice
1 clove of garlic, crushed
½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup olive oil

Directions:
Soak quinoa for 15 minutes in a saucepan. Give quinoa a stir, and then pour off the water through a sieve. Rinse it off with running water, and then transfer back to cooking pot. Add water, cover with lid, and bring to a boil. Reduce quinoa to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove quinoa from heat, and let sit with lid still on, for another 5 minutes.

Remove lid, fluff, and transfer to a large bowl.

In the meantime, chop nuts, parsley, mint, and prepare pomegranate seeds.

To prepare the pomegranate dressing, smash the clove of garlic into a paste and add salt. Whisk together with olive oil and pomegranate juice.

In a large bowl mix the quinoa with salad ingredients and vinaigrette.

Sharing Fall Recipes!

What better way to ensure that you are eating the freshest and ripest fruit than to pick off the tree with your own hands? Some of the fondest times that I have with my family are when we take a ride to an orchard and pick until our hearts are content. The only thing that is more enjoyable to picking these fruits is creating delicious desserts together later that evening—whether it’s a homemade applesauce or peach crisp.

I would like to share with you two of my favorite recipes to enjoy with your children. There’s no better time in the kitchen than when your children help you to bake or cook. It’s a great family activity and your children will look forward to it every time!

Homemade Applesauce

4 med. apples (2 Granny Smith, 2 Delicious)
small sauce pan
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. granulated sugar
3-4 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves

1. Peel and core apples. Cut them into quarters.

2. Put cut up apples, sugar, cinnamon sticks, 2 cloves and water into pan.

3. Cover and cook at medium heat for 20 minutes.

4. Let apples cool, then mash with potato masher

5. You may add ground cinnamon/touch of brown sugar to taste.

** for an exotic touch, try a few pieces of allspice in the cooking liquid.

My Favorite Peach Crisp

6 cups fresh peach slices, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup unbleached flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oatmeal
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, cold, cut in 8 pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter a 9″ x 9″ glass baking pan or 2 quart stoneware baking dish. Set aside.

3.In a large bowl, toss peeled and pitted ripe peach slices with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 flour and lemon juice and arrange in prepared baking dish. Set aside.

4. Combine 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup oatmeal and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until blended.

5. With the food processor running, add cold butter a few pieces at a time. Pulse until the butter is incorporated and looks like coarse meal.

6. Spread topping ingredients evenly over the peaches and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until peaches are bubbling through and the topping is starting to brown. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes or more before serving.

You can serve with Vanilla Bean ice cream!

The Power of Soup

With the way that winter has hit us thus far, I am sure that we have all consumed many bowls of soup each. Soups are probably the most underestimated and underused dish on our dinner menu. As a professional Chef, I can honestly tell you that soups are my favorite dishes to prepare. A great soup is an indication to your guests that they are in for a real treat (providing that the rest of the meal is as good, of course). Soups come in a variety of forms and texture, so there is “something for everyone”—from the simplest palate to the most finicky (such as my 19 month old son’s). By the way, a soup, in particular one with chock full of fresh vegetables, is a wonderful way of offering your children an incredible amount of vitamins and antioxidants. I often prepare for my son a soup composed of broccoli, spinach, and carrots (organic, of course), cooked until al dente to preserve the vitamins and flavor, pureed with a hand emulsifier then finished off with a splash of cream and a touch of sea salt.

Today we even have scientific evidence that that ancient remedy for cold, flu, and fever—chicken soup—really has anti-inflammatory properties.  Its Japanese equivalent—miso soup—helps naturally ease symptoms of menopause (it contains estrogen receptors), can help to protect us from certain types of cancer (breast cancer is on the top of the list) and can even help reduce wrinkles.

Soup is a powerful tool that should be used more often. This power is beneficial to not only our palates, but more importantly, our bodies. So what soup will you make for your family tonight? Your choices are unlimited. Buon Appetito!

Salmon: farm-raised vs. wild

If you’re on a healthy nutritional plan, you’re probably eating a nutrient dense diet filled with lean protein, whole wheat carbs, and rich omega-3 fatty acids. To get your healthy omega-3 fatty acids, you may have decided to introduce salmon to your diet (a great choice) but make sure you know the difference between farm-raised versus wild ocean-caught salmon before stocking up. There are several health related issues with farm-raised salmon found in your local grocery stores and restaurants. We will discuss how farm-raised salmon differs from wild ocean-caught salmon and the biggest issues that surround the farm-raised type.

Farm raised salmon are fish housed in controlled farms across the country. These salmon are jam packed into little bins with hundreds, if not thousands, of other salmon and fed fishmeal pellets as their daily diet to bulk them up for market. Fishmeal consists of ground-up sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and other small fish. These are the biggest issues with farm-raised salmon:

• PCB levels – Polychlorinated biphenyls “PCBs” are mixtures of up to 209 individual chlorinated compounds (known as congeners). There are no known natural sources of PCBs. PCBs are either oily liquids or solids that are colorless to light yellow. PCBs have been used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment because they don’t burn easily and are good insulators. The manufacture of PCBs was stopped in the U.S. in 1977 because it was found that they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects. However, PCBs persist in the environment. Salmon absorb PCBs from contaminated sediments and from their food. Studies found that the fishmeal pellets fed to farm-raised salmon is highly contaminated with PCBs. Farm-raised salmon is dangerous because of the process of bioaccumulation. When you eat salmon, your digestive processes break down the contaminated salmon fat, releasing the PCBs into your system. Your body then stores the PCBs in its own fat. So if you eat large amounts of salmon, the PCBs of each piece of salmon become stored in your body. The PCBs eventually leave your body, however it occurs over the course of years. The danger comes when you eat salmon often because the PCBs and other contaminants bioaccumulate inside your body.

• Higher Fat Content – Because farm-raised salmon are jam packed in bins with other fish, they can’t move around as much so they have a higher level of fat. On the other hand, wild ocean-caught salmon are free to swim and move all over, so they are a much leaner fish. The last thing you want is to think you’re choosing a healthy lean salmon when in fact you are getting a much fattier fish than expected. Not only do sedentary effects pack fat onto farm-raised salmon but the fishmeal they are fed also has a direct effect on their overall fat content. The oils from the fishmeal pack fat onto farm-raised salmon resulting in farm-raised salmon having 52% more fat than wild ocean-caught salmon. But the weight gain from additional fat also results in higher levels of PCBs and other contaminants in the farmed salmon.

• Artificial Colorings – Wild ocean-caught salmon have a beautiful pink color. They get this coloring from being in the wild and by eating their daily diet of natural food from the ocean. Farm-raised salmon do not have this pink color, so they are given artificial colorings to make them more palatable to the eye. This basically makes them more marketable, since many consumers prefer fish with the traditional pink color. The chemicals used to turn farm-raised salmon pink are canthaxanthin and astaxanthin.

Overall Cheaper Salmon – Wild ocean-caught salmon tends to be 3-4 times more expensive per pound than farm raised salmon. Make sure you get what you pay for, so next time you’re at the grocery store, take a look at the label to see what type of salmon you’re getting. The FDA makes it mandatory for all packaged salmon in grocery stores to specify if the salmon you’re purchasing is either farmed-raised or wild ocean-caught. Also, when you’re at your favorite restaurant, ask the waiter/waitress if the salmon is farm-raised or wild. This way, you will select healthier fish and make sure they are not over charging for a fish that may be of cheaper quality.

Cooked quinoa

This month we will be serving quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), an ancient grain from the Andrea Mountains of South America. Quinoa was one of the three staples, along with corn and potatoes, of the Incan civilization. The Incas treated quinoa as a sacred crop and, recognizing it’s nutritional importance, referred to it as chisaya mama or mother of all grains.

In contemporary times this crop has been further appreciated and understood for its important nutritional value. The protein profile of quinoa is higher than any other grain. It contains 12-18% protein and contains all the essential amino acids making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods. (As a comparison, rice and wheat each contain 7-8% protein and are low in lysine, an essential amino acid.) Quinoa is also a good source of dietary fiber, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. The grain is gluten free and easily digested. Due to its impressive nutritional content quinoa is being considered as a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.

Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when it is cooked and has a lightly nutty flavor. It can be used as an alternative to rice, pasta, or other grains. Quinoa is prepared much like rice. Most boxed quinoa has been pre-rinsed for convenience. If bought in bulk or loose make sure to soak the grain in water for a few hours then change the water, re-soak, and then strain. Bring two cups of water to a boil to one cup of grain. Cover and simmer on low and cook for 14-18 minutes. The grain should be al dente and have a slight bite to it. Add seasonings, vegetables, chicken, or tofu to make a wide range of nutritional and tasty dishes. Enjoy!

Beginning in May, milk served at Marymount will come from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy in Ancramdale, NY, which guarantees organic and locally produced dairy products. This means that the girls are not only drinking chemical-free milk from healthy and well-cared-for cows but supporting a local business by doing so! Read more here.