Sunday, August 5, 2007

ARF / 5-a-Day: A Salute to Summer

Whoo Hoo! Time for my weekly ARF post, again hosted by Sweetnicks! It's become quite the ritual for me, what can I say, I love this event (especially since it gives me the chance to make the family and fiance some healthy yummies!). This week's recipe is not only rich in fruits from the summer's harvest and farmers markets, but it has no refined sugars or flours, and no added fat! The anti-oxidants abound in the honey, obviously the fruits and even the whole wheat flour!
  • Honey contains nutraceuticals, which are effective in removing free radicals from our body. As a result, our body immunity is improved (Organic Facts).
  • The total antioxidant activity in [fruits, vegetables and whole grains] is similar, according to Dr. Liu's research. His team measured the antioxidant activity of various foods, assigning each a rating based on a formula (micromoles of vitamin C equivalent per gram). Broccoli and spinach measured 80 and 81, respectively; apple and banana measured 98 and 65; and of the whole grains tested, corn measured 181, whole wheat 77, oats 75, and brown rice 56. (WHFoods.com)
I actually made these on Friday for Andrew and his family to try out, mostly because a) I felt bad for missing George's birthday, and b) we had 2 baskets (6 L total) of Ontario peaches, 2 Lbs of black cherries and 2 jars of strawberry jam that I wanted to play with. Plus, we would have had to eat about 3 pcs of fruit each for each meal to use up the fruit before it went bad, as it was rapidly doing so. But hey, who needs an excuse for a delicious salute to Summer?



Salute to Summer Muffins
12 muffins
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp applesauce
1 large or 2 small peaches, pitted and chopped
10 cherries, pitted and halved
3 Tbsp no-sugar-added strawberry preserves or jam
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh-squeezed if possible)
  1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Puree applesauce, peaches, cherries and strawberry jam, add to honey and orange juice and mix.
  3. Fold dry and wet ingredients together, until just moistened.
  4. Spoon into lightly greased muffin tins.
  5. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 80
Total Fat 0.2g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 4mg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 18.7g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0.6g 3%
Sugars 7.5g
Protein 1.3g

Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 11% • Calcium 2% • Iron 3%
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

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