Polymeal Recipes

Getting your 5 servings of fruits and vegetables can keep your heart healthy, reduce your risk of developing cancer, help your vision and keep you in the aging-gracefully camp.

Check out the 5 a Day site for a run down of the benefits of eating different colored fruits and vegetables.

There’s a great article over at Convenience Store News about the health benefits of almonds, and how they can keep your heart healthy, your body fat low, and your blood sugar stable.

Link: What a Nut: Studies Crack Almonds’ Health Benefits

This combination of salmon, garlic, and rosemary is a sure hit, and heart-healthy too!

Not all dark chocolate is the same.

Many companies use processes that destroy or remove the heart-healthy flavonoids from dark chocolate. Dutch or alkali processed cocoa has most of the flavonoids stripped away, so try to avoid chocolate made with it.

Conversely, the Mars Corporation has developed a process called Cocoapro that retains a high level of the flavonoids in the cocoa. In fact, Dove makes a dark chocolate bar that is so high in flavonoids that it is used in research studies.

Generally, the darker the chocolate is, the better. Information on flavonoid levels in different brands of dark chocolate is hard to find. Dove is the only one that I’ve seen concrete information about, but other high-quality brands likely have decent levels of flavonoids as well.

So, to sum up, avoid Dutch or alkali processed cocoa, go as dark as possible, and look for the Cocoapro label on Mars products.

Roasting garlic takes away the sharp bite, leaving a more mellow flavor behind.

It’s simple to do in a terracotta garlic roaster. If you don’t have one, you can use tin foil over a ramekin or baking dish instead.

Regular consumption of garlic not only helps you to keep your heart healthy, it can help men with erectile dysfunction.

Garlic helps to widen the arteries and increase blood flow to the groin, which aids in erections. Many men with heart disease also have impotency problems due to poor circulation.

The creation of nitric oxide, a chemical that is involved in causing erections, is also enhanced by garlic compounds.

Scientists recommend taking garlic supplements to get a high enough dose of garlic to be effective, but eating it helps too.

So next time you’re making a romantic meal for you and your sweetie, add some garlic!

Reference: Garlic a ‘power boost’ love drug - News.com.au

Lifehacker has a great post today with a new trick for cutting onions.

I’d never heard this one before, and I’m looking forward to trying it out!

A recent Canadian study determined that the more fast-food joints there are in a neighbourhood, the higher the rate of heart disease in the area.

For more information, check out this article from the Globe and Mail: Live Near These & They’ll Get You

If you’re looking for a technical overview of the chemistry of hearth healthy compounds in garlic, look no further.

Garlic Festival Foods has a great interview with Dr. Eric Block, an expert in garlic chemistry.

You can read the interview here: http://www.garlicfestival.com/Rx/garlicchemistry.html

There are a few tricks to getting the smell of garlic off your hands.

• Run your hands over some stainless steel. Nearly everyone has stainless steel faucets in their kitchens.
• Mix a little salt and dish detergent in your palm, then rub them together. The salt absorbs the odor!
• Stir two level tablespoons of baking soda into a glass of water, then soak your hands for 30 seconds to a minute.
• Rub a cut lime or lemon on your hands. Check to make sure you don’t have any scratches first!