June through August is the perfect season for sweet, crunchy cucumbers. Try this quick pickle recipe at your next picnic or barbeque. Serve it as an appetizer, side salad, or topping for grilled turkey or veggie-burgers and fish. It’s an easy, fresh addition to your healthy table anytime! (more…)

Jicama is a refreshingly sweet, crunchy, moist globe-shaped vegetable that takes on the flavors of any accompanying fruits or vegetables. It is easy to peel if you use the same technique that you may use on oranges or melons. Cut the top and bottom of the “globe” to form flat surfaces. Set on a flat side and cut away the skin from top to bottom in strips, rotating the globe, until the skin is removed. Cut the cleaned fruit in half from top to bottom. Chop or section as needed. (more…)

by Chef Jack
You can enjoy this recipe as a snack, on a salad or as a perfect complement to your favorite HMR Entrée. Make it as spicy or as mild as you like! (more…)

It’s time for the traditional Irish feast of potatoes and cabbage. For this year’s healthy table, let’s add a wee bit of greens to classic creamy potatoes and pair them with tiny, cabbage-like Brussels sprouts! The cabbage family, known as crucifers, is generally a great resource for calcium, iron, and vitamins A, C, E and K and a variety of cancer preventive glucosinates. Brussels sprouts have the best variety and combination of glucosinates in the cabbage family. Current research reveals that the tiny crucifers may also provide significant cardiovascular benefits and protection from accelerated aging. The trick to preventing Brussels sprouts and cabbage relatives from developing strong sulfurous odors is to cook them while they are fresh, over lower to medium heat, being careful not to over-cook. (more…)

Apples and cabbage have a classic reputation for complimentary flavors. Their nutritional partnership is stellar since cabbage, and its cruciferous relatives, may reduce the risk of a number of cancers, provide significant cardiovascular benefits, and assist in protection from accelerated mental decline that occurs with aging. Braised white or purple cabbage and apples is an Oktoberfest dish that is quick, inexpensive, and surprisingly mild in flavor. The secret to keeping the mild, grassy flavor of cabbage is to cook it very quickly in an open pan. The sulfurous odors are released when cabbage is cooked too well and too slowly. In this recipe, apple cider vinegar reduces the odors even further. I have chosen whole cabbage. Coarsely grated packaged “coleslaw” works well. Reduce cooking time. (more…)

Potato salad is a favorite addition to Labor Day picnics. What great news… potatoes and onions are rich in potassium (potatoes have more than bananas!) and flavonoids – a combination believed to be important to heart health and blood pressure control. (more…)