Tag Archives: cilantro

Little Blue Dynamos: My Love Affair with Blueberries Made a Blueberry Cucumber Salad

blueberries

It’s my favorite time of year: peak blueberry season! If you’re anything like me, you can’t get enough of these little balls of deliciousness. Farmers markets, U-Pick berry fields, or from the local produce store, I can’t gobble them up fast enough.

Peak season is anytime from late June through early September, so I’m even known to buy extra large amounts in bulk and freeze* for the rest of the year. Then I add them to smoothies, pancakes (my favorite recipe is this one), oatmeal, you name it! I even found a way to add these little guys to a savory salad. Don’t believe me? We’ll let you try the recipe for yourself!

blueberry cucumber salad

Why the love affair with blueberries? These little blue dynamos… (more…)

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Katie McGrath

Season with Cilantro for an Extra Dose of Good Health

 

cilantro

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist

“Do you like cilantro?” was the subject line of an email I recently sent out to a few people coming to my home for dinner. A cilantro-hating ex-boyfriend taught me that when you dislike the herb, it’s with a passion. (To find out why, check out the “I hate cilantro” Facebook page with more than 13,000 likes, and the blog of the same name.)

If you fall into that camp, then you can stop reading now (or, continue, just to see what you’re missing). No matter how you feel about its taste, there’s no denying that nutritionally, it’s a bona fide super food. Here’s why:

  • It’s very rich in carotenoids. This group of antioxidant phytonutrients is important for the skin and eyes, as well as overall health. When tested along with other common herbs (basil, dill, mint, parsley, rosemary), cilantro was the richest in beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin.
  • It may fight cancer. In test tube research at University of Malaya, ground up stems, leaves, and roots help kill breast cancer cells, a benefit that can be chalked up to cilantro’s plentiful carotenoids and other antioxidants. (more…)
Posted on May 27, 2023 by BestLifeDiet

DIY Flavor: The Best Herbs to Grow in Your Garden (or Window)

herbs

Have you ever considered getting into the whole herb gardening thing? I certainly have, but as always, I need a strong resource to wrap my mind around what is the easiest and most beneficial thing to grow at home. I didn’t find this quickie guide, so I did the research and created one for us all. It turns out herb gardening is easy and a super healthy and cost-effective way to add heapings of extra flavor to your food. Here are the best greens to grow in an indoor or outdoor herb garden. All you need to get started are a few pots, a little bit of soil and some seeds! 

 

basil

Basil
Basil is super easy to grow at home. All you need is some seeds and the sunlight. Basil is so versatile—use it in soups and salads or make pesto with it. It works great in Italian dishes (obviously) and it can add a fun flavor blast to stirfrys too! Basil is also awesome for clearing your skin and mellowing your stress. Who knew?

Try it in a summery peach caprese salad! (more…)

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Jessica Tholmer

Cumin Scrambled Egg Breakfast Tacos Save Your Morning with Taco Night Leftovers

Taco night is a favorite at our house, but there is always more cilantro than we can use. While I have a few other recipes that call for it as garnish, my favorite use is adding it to cumin scrambled eggs in the morning. This breakfast recipe is great for any taco leftover you might have or just for a different take on eggs. The cumin adds a warm flavor to breakfast which is wonderful, especially on snowy winter mornings.

breakfast tacos
If you have fresh onion and garlic, cook it in a skillet with a bit of avocado oil or lard until soft; your kitchen will smell fantastic. I have used onion powder and garlic powder in the eggs as well, but nothing beats fresh if it is still on hand after your previous night’s taco dinner.

sautee-onions
Prep scrambled eggs for your family, adding a dash of paprika and approximately half a teaspoon of cumin per egg to the whisked egg and (almond) milk. If you don’t have fresh, don’t forget to add onion powder and garlic powder as well. I also enjoy a dash of red pepper, but my son finds it too spicy; I just add mine right before serving. (more…)

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

13 Yummiest Must-Eat Recipes of 2024

It’s time to get listicle, kids! It’s the end of the year and we’re gearing up for the barrage of end-of-year lists. We’re part of the problem, or maybe it’s the solution. Either way, we have no shame! We love a good year-end roundup. It makes for fun memory-making, a time to reconcile and take stock of the year. And in the case of this list in particular – eat the best stuff around.

In order from #1 to #13, we’re sharing the recipes that YOU ranked as most popular this year. Eat visit counted as a vote. Let this be your recipe guide for year-end celebrations and new year resolutions.

Healthy, fun, simple, indulgent, and satisfying – these are the must-eat recipes of 2024!

Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches – Mashed banana, flax seed and agave nectar keep these childhood treats moist and delicious, but still healthy.

Healthy Oatmeal Cookie Sandiches Recipe

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Waffles – Waffles should come out of an iron, not a box. This recipe doubles easily for holiday house guests.

Cinnamon Apple Oat Waffles

(more…)

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Natalie K

Roasted Tomatillo and Pineapple Salsa is a Sweet and Spicy Treat

“I’m solar powered,” my grandmother recently said to me in the deepest, darkest part of the Winter That Just Would Not End. I couldn’t have agreed more, I thrive on sunshine! That day, the sun had poked through for the first time in weeks and we were all in a better mood. That night, I couldn’t handle sitting cooped up at our table for dinner one more time, so we made our way to the patio of a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed what will be the first of many outdoor dinners this season.

Our complimentary chips and salsa included a tomatillo and pineapple variety that I hadn’t tried before. One bite was all I needed to try and commandeer that part of the sampler. My husband told me I could make it better. Challenge accepted.

By the way – challenge won! (more…)

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Natalie K

Homemade and Fat-Free Creamy Feta Salad Dressings Two Ways

If I told you that you could have big salads tossed with a creamy dressing and it would be fat free, would you believe me? Not only fat free, but extremely low calorie, fresh flavor, and maybe the best dressing you’ve ever had. Let me show you the way.

I prepare a big entree salad for dinner for my family once or twice a week. I swore off grocery store salad dressings years ago because they’re terrible, and frankly, I can whip up a vinaigrette on demand with a flavor that perfectly complements my meal. But I recently grew tired of the vinegar and oil and craved the creamier variety I used to douse my salads in. Inspiration struck.

Picking through the refrigerator, I found feta crumbles, Greek yogurt, and the strawberries and basil I usually add to vinaigrette. These were blended together, without the oil, and the sweetest pink dressing adorned our salads that night. And with that, my creamy feta dressing fixation began. (more…)

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Natalie K

Summer Produce: What’s Up with Herbs?

With farmer’s markets across the country in full swing, you might be wondering how in the world you’re going to navigate the overflowing stands of fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs.

With more leafy greens than you can count and basil plants that seem to be bursting at the seams, how does a produce novice manage to take home fruits and veggies that will make it to your table and into your meals and snacks?

This week, we’re taking you through some of the herbs – popular and obscure – that you might encounter at your farmer’s market. Because fresh herbs sold at outdoor or indoor local markets are typically fresh and free of preservatives, you’ll need to use them pretty quickly.

(more…)

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Maris

RECALL: Alfalfa Sprouts, Cilantro and Parsley

Cilantro leavesTwo apparently separate outbreaks of salmonella have prompted recalls of alfalfa sprouts, cilantro and parsley.

The FDA says the contaminated alfalfa sprouts have been traced to Tiny Greens Organic Farm, which sold the vegetables in four-ounce and five-pound containers to farmer’s markets and grocery stores. They also sell sprouts to restaurants, including the sandwich chain Jimmy John’s. The sprouts have made 94 people ill in 16 states, but no deaths have been linked to the outbreak.

(more…)

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Health Buzz