Brine Pickled Carrot Sticks
Makes 1 qt
2 pounds carrots, peeled and into sticks that are no more than about 1 inch wide
4 cups water
¼ cup kosher salt
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 dried hot chile
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
Boil the salt, water, bay leaves, black peppercorn, and chile for a minute or so. Then, turn off the heat and let this cool to room temperature. Once the brine has cooled to room temperature, pack the carrots and the thyme sprig into a clean Mason jar and pour the brine over them, making sure the jars all get some of the spices.
Pour leftover brine into a plastic bag and tie off. Push the bag into the jar of carrots to ensure that the carrots are completely submerged in the brine. If the carrots come in contact with air, the carrots will spoil with mold.
Put the jar into a cool, dark place for at least 3-4 days but typically not longer than 2 weeks. The temperature should be about 55-70oF. The longer carrots ferment, the saltier and tangier they will taste.
Remove the bag of leftover brine from the jar. Screw a lid onto the jar and place in refrigerator where they will keep for about 6 months.
]]>Requiring no equipment, no teams, and no score keeping, tag can be played quickly and almost anywhere without preparation. The start and stop motion of the game also results in tremendous aerobic benefits and improvements in speed, agility, and endurance. The fast pace of the game can be tiring in just 15-20 minutes. And, the fun of the game satisfies even those who dread the chore of just running.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 1 hour of physical activity each day for children and adolescents. Adults need 150 minutes per week of aerobic activity. Get some of those needed physical activity minutes from a family game of tag. Get creative and make safe zones or bases. Try some of the variations below to mix it up:
Categories. The “It” chooses a category. Players can avoid being tagged by sitting down on the ground and shouting an item that fits in that category just before being tagged. For example, if the category was “fruit”, a player would avoid a tag by sitting on the ground and saying “apples”. Players are safe as long as they are on the ground but they can only sit on the ground for 10 seconds and can only shout a category and sit on the ground when “It” is 10 feet away or closer.
Freeze Tag Just like regular tag except that when someone is tagged, they are frozen and can’t move. There are many variations as how to get unfrozen – getting tagged by another player that isn’t “It”, having someone crawl between their legs, etc. Once someone has become frozen three times, he or she becomes the new “It”.
Bumper Tag Just like regular tag except that instead of tagging with hand, the “It” must tag with his or her hips. Remind players that all that is needed is a little bump. Nobody should be purposefully knocked to the ground.
Blob Tag Requires multiple people. When tagged, the player joins hands with “It” to create a large blob. Once the blob has 4 people, it can split into groups of two only and may split into groups of two any time thereafter. The person left without being tagged is “It” and the game starts again.
Fainting Goat Tag In this version, the “It” is called the Shepard. Whoever the Shepard touches becomes the new Shepard. The other players are “goats” and they can fall to the ground to avoid being tagged but they are only safe on the group for up to 10 seconds. The goat can only fall to the ground when the Shepard is 10 feet away or closer.
Dead Ant Tag Requires at least 6 players. In this version, once tagged, the player must lay down with both hands and feet sticking straight up, like a dead ant. In order for the dead player to come alive, four people must tag one limb each. Once a person has been a dead ant three times, he or she is now “It”.
Shadow Tag Instead of tagging the person, “It” tags someone by stepping on the shadow of other players. When a person’s shadow is stepped on, they are frozen until another player steps on their shadow.
Hug Tag Just like regular tag except that players can be safe from being tagged if they are hugging someone else. They can only remain in a hugged position for 5 seconds.
Werewolf Tag One player is selected to hide. The other players search for the player. When one of the players finds the hiding player, they scream out “WEREWOLF!” The werewolf comes out of hiding and chases after all the other players. If caught, that person becomes a werewolf as well. The last person not tagged becomes the werewolf for the next round.
]]>Ham and Jicama Wraps – divided evenly, wrap 6 jicama or celery sticks with 3 slices of ham. Serve with 1 tsp whole grain mustard for dipping.
Creamy Herb Dip with Vegetables – serve raw vegetables, such as jicama sticks, snap peas, carrot sticks, or thinly sliced beets with a creamy dip. To make dip, blend together 5 oz goat cheese, ½ cup plain low fat yogurt, 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill, 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, 1 tsp lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt.
Strawberry Mango Jicama salad – make a fruit salad of sliced strawberries, chopped mango, chopped jicama, chopped fresh cilantro, and lime juice.
]]>When buying parsnips, keep in mind that the small ones aren’t necessarily more tender. Choose fairly big ones (less peeling!) that are sweet-smelling, firm, and free of blemishes or soft spots. Avoid ones with a sprouting top. Parsnips will keep for weeks when stored in a crisper in a ventilated plastic bag.
To cook, first peel and trim as you would carrots. If you find one with a woody core, remove the core with a paring knife. Parsnips are softer and quicker cooking than carrots.
So head to the store, grab yourself a bag of pale Vermonters’ legs, and give one of the following recipes a try!
Beef Stew with Potatoes and Parsnips
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup tomato paste
1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into ½ by 2 inch pieces
1 tbsp white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, season flour with salt and pepper. Coat beef in flour, shaking off excess. In a large heavy ovenproof pot, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium. In batches, brown beef on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Add remaining tablespoon oil, onion, garlic, and tomato paste and sauté until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Add beef and any accumulated juices, potatoes, parsnips, 1 ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until meat is fork-tender, 1 hour. Stir in vinegar and serve.
Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cardamom or 1 ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine salt
¾ cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract, divided
2 cups grated parsnip (from 1 large peeled parsnip)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, oil, 2 tsp vanilla, and parsnip. Stir in flour mixture.
Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Divide batter among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, with a mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining vanilla until combined. Spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
To store, refrigerate cupcakes in an airtight container, up to 2 days.
]]>Research studies that try to find links between diet and disease have shown a repeated association between the intake of red meat and two major health conditions, heart disease and cancer. In these studies, those people that ate larger amounts of red meat tended to have a higher risk for both conditions.
Regarding heart disease, some of the proposed elements in red meat that are to blame are saturated fat, cholesterol, carnitine, choline, and/or heme iron content. Studies have shown that an increased intake of each of these is related to an increased risk for heart disease; however, current thinking is leaning more heavily on excessive sugars and omega-6 fatty acids as the dietary factor most likely causing heart disease.
There are two proposed explanations for the increased risk for cancer seen among meat-eaters. Meats naturally contain nitrite and nitrate, both of which are believed to be carcinogenic. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs), compounds which are formed on cooked meat and poultry, is the other component that could be to blame. HCAs have been shown to be carcinogenic in animals.
Bottom line: For whatever the reason, eating large amounts of red meat doesn’t appear to be the healthiest thing to do. Most food eaten should be plant foods. Limit your intake of red meats (beef, pork, and lamb) to no more than 18 oz (cooked weight) per week and completely avoid processed meats (ham, bacon, salami, hot dogs, and sausages.) Use the following tips to decrease the HCAs in your meats and poultry:
Yes, decreasing the intake of sweetened beverages would be beneficial at reducing the contribution of added sugars to the diet. But are we missing the bigger picture? If 30% of calories come from the added sugars in drinks, this means that a whopping 70% of added sugars comes from foods, such as candy, breakfast cereals, and desserts. Sweeteners are also creeping into other foods as well, such as such as crackers, tomato sauce, and salad dressings.
Ingredients on a food label are listed in descending order by weight. Avoid choosing foods that have a sweetener within the first few ingredients in the list or have multiple sweeteners in the ingredient list. This handout can help identify the various sweeteners used by food manufacturers.
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Bottom line: The miracle tree may offer a promising nutritional content but without any quality clinical trials, the validity of health claims are hard to measure. If you are considering adding moringa to your diet, view it more as a multivitamin, and consult a health care professional for further information.
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