Is Salsa a Vegetable?

Besides being recognized as a popular snack dip, salsa can now be officially identified as a vegetable. The U. S. Department of Agriculture recently recognized commercial salsa as a vegetable for the National School Lunch Program. The change in policy came at the request of schools in the west and southwest that wanted to make lunches more appealing while maintaining a nutritious balance.

Salsa, which usually has no fat or cholesterol, (and little or no added sugar), has been considered a vegetable under the lunch program only if schools served their own recipe. With this new ruling from USDA, commercial salsa can now be counted as a vegetable as well.

Source: Nutrition Week: Community Nutrition, Institute, July 24, 1998

Cooking With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

In order to sun dry tomatoes, you need ideal weather conditions. Long, hot, sunny summer days with a gentle breeze and low humidity. Sounds like Chicago? We may have one day per year that meets that description, but no one expects it and it probably won’t happen when our tomatoes are ready to harvest. So what can we do? Dry the tomatoes in a dehydrator or the oven.

Now that you have dried them, what do you do with them? There are some wonderful ways to use dried tomatoes. Remember, once dried, tomatoes take on a completely different texture and flavor from their ripe counterparts. They become rich tasting, intensely tomato flavored, and raisin-like in texture.

• Use kitchen shears to snip them into pieces and drop into soups, stews and casseroles. Use as a topping for homemade pizza too.

• Enhance your flavored olive oil by adding pieces of 4 tablespoons of dried tomatoes to 1/2 cup of virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup feta cheese chunks and add l tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, basil or oregano or combination. Serve with toasted or grilled bread chunks. Serve at room temperature and refrigerate leftovers for 2 to 3 days. Makes a great appetizer.

• Rehydrate tomatoes by covering with warm water. Allow them to set at room temperature for 30 minutes. Drain and add to a tossed salad. Save the liquid or add to cooked vegetables.

• Add dried pieces to cooked vegetables during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Try adding them to green beans, cabbage or green peas.

The Best Way to Reduce Your Blood Cholesterol

A combination of exercise and a healthy diet instead of one or the other is likely to produce more effective results in reducing your blood cholesterol level. High blood cholesterol is a primary risk factor in the development of heart disease. Over a one-year period, researchers monitored the cholesterol levels of 377 men and women aged 30 through 64.

The subjects had moderately high levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and low levels of HDL (good cholesterol). The subjects were divided and placed into varying programs; one quarter in a diet and exercise program; one quarter in just a diet program; another quarter in just an exercise program; and a control group that did not change their diet or exercise habits at all.

Participants in the diet/exercise and diet groups showed decreases in body weight, cholesterol and fat intake, while the exercise and control groups remained unchanged. In addition, men and women in the diet/exercise group had significantly lower LDL levels than the control group. The men on the diet/exercise versus the exercise only had reduced LDL levels compared to the men on the diet only program, which showed no significant change. In conclusion: lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) are recommended in order to live longer, healthier lives.

Resource: The New England Journal of Medicine: Vol. 339, #1, July 2, 1998; pp.12-20

Autumn 1998
Powdery Mildew Thrives Now | "Wet Feet" of Shrubs, Trees & Flowers | Baking Soda Update | Some Tips on Buying Firewood | Lawn Care Caldenar | Bug Bites: Slugs | Cybergarden Sites | Hort Shorts | Hort Tips | Refrigerator Storage | Locally Grown: Edible Flowers | Pre-Washed Salad Greens | Foodborne Illness: What Consumers Need to Know | Health & Household Tips | Did You Know?

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