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Health benefits of kale

Category: Latest News
Aug. 21st, 2009
 Posted By elaine - Leave a Comment

HEALTH BENEFITS OF KALE

from www.howstuffworks.com

Publications International, Ltd., the Editors of.  “Kale.”  23 March 2007.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://home.howstuffworks.com/kale.htm>  21 August 2009.
Inside this Article

Health Benefits of Kale
Kale is king. Along with broccoli, it is one of the nutrition stand-outs among vegetables. It fights fat through its ability to mingle in a variety of roles — in side dishes, combined in main dishes, or in salads.

For a green, kale is unusually high in fiber. This helps create the bulk you need to fill you up and to keep you full for a good amount of time. Kale is also an excellent source of nutrients, especially vitamin A and calcium. With a combination of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, kale is a dieter’s dream food.

Health Benefits of Kale

Though greens in general are nutritious foods, kale stands a head above the rest. Not only is it one of your best sources of beta-carotene, one of the antioxidants believed by many nutrition experts to be a major player in the battle against cancer, heart disease, and certain age-related chronic diseases, it also provides other important nutrients.

In addition to beta-carotene, kale posses other important carotenoids: lutein and zeaxathin. These carotenoids help keep UV rays from damaging the eyes and causing cataracts.

According to recent research results, kale is an incredible source of well-absorbed calcium, which is one of the many factors that may help prevent osteoporosis. It also provides decent amounts of vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin B6, manganese, and potassium.

The manganese in kale helps your body’s own antioxidant defense system, superoxide dismutase, protecting you from damaging free radicals. Its folate and B6 team up to keep homocysteine levels down, which may help prevent heart disease, dementia, and osteoporosis bone fractures.

Nutritional Values of Cooked Kale
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories     18
Fat     0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol     0 mg
Carbohydrate     4 g
Protein     1 g
Dietary Fiber     1 g
Sodium
15 mg
Vitamin A
8,854 IU
Folic Acid     9 micrograms
Vitamin C     27 mg
Calcium     47 mg
Magnesium     15 mg
Potassium     148 mg
Carotenoids     17,172 micrograms

Traditional teatime sponge cake

Category: Recipes
Aug. 19th, 2009
 Posted By elaine - 1 Comment

Traditional Sponge Cake
From ‘Avoca Tea time’

Although this is a recipe that everyone is familiar with I am including it for a couple of reasons: It has no butter, so is low fat (even with cream filling) which reduces cake related guilt… it needs no raising agent, which I think is amazing, considering how light it turns out… and it shows off how good duck eggs are for baking. Duck eggs have more albumen in the white, which means that they are better than hen eggs for any recipe that needs them to thicken and lift (eg meringues, buns and particularly – sponge cake). And – it really is an old fashioned treat.

Ingredients:
5 large v fresh eggs (hen are fine, but duck are better)
150g caster sugar
150g plain flour, sieved

Filling:
Strawberry jam
200ml whipping cream, whipped

1.    Preheat oven to 170c. Line 2 x 16cm, lined with parchment paper
2.    Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk until the thick ribbon stage is reached – takes about 10mins. Very gently, with a metal spoon, fold in the sieved flour.
3.    Spread the mix evenly between the two tins, bake for 20-25 mins, until firm to the touch. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
4.    When totally cold top the first cake with jam, then cream. You could also add sliced fresh berries. Place the second cake on top. Dust with sieved icing sugar and decorate with berries/flowers if wished.

Broccoli, cherry tomato, hazelnut & feta salad

Category: Recipes
Aug. 7th, 2009
 Posted By elaine - 3 Comments

Broccoli, cherry tomato, feta & hazelnut salad
From ‘Avoca Salads’

This is a great combination of sweet, salt and the crunchiness of the broccoli and nuts. Lovely as a side dish with green salad and fresh boiled potatoes.

Ingredients:
110g hazelnuts
400g broccoli florets – bite sized
110g feta cheese, bite sized chunks
225g cherry tomatoes, halved
200ml French dressing

Toast the hazelnuts in a hot oven, until skins brown. Tip into a tea towel and rub off the skins. Allow to cool, then  put the hazelnuts in a bowl with the broccoli and cherry tomatoes. Gently toss with the dressing and season with pepper. Salt may not be needed, as the feta is usually salty enough. Top with the feta.