Phyto-Whats? – A Closer Look at Phytonutrients and Their Health Benefits

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

The word “phytonutrient” is a word that sounds very complicated, like one only a person well-versed in all things science might understand. But before you go whip out your old high school biology textbook, keep on reading for a quick crash course on phytonutrients and what they do for our bodies.

Grocery cart filled with nutritious fruits and vegetables.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, phytonutrients, also called phytochemicals, are naturally occurring plant substances that are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds. These phytonutrients play an important role in the health of plants, as they help protect them against bugs, fungus, and other environmental threats.

Registered dietician Amber Sommer says that phytonutrients do similar things for our bodies. While they’re not actually antioxidants, phytonutrients have antioxidant effects, meaning they help to protect our cells from free-radical damage and oxidative stress. They also offer anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting benefits, which help with cardiovascular health, cognitive health, and protect against cancer and disease.

Getting phytonutrients into your diet is easy, as there are more than 10,000 types of phytonutrients. Some of the most common include carotenoids, ellagic acid, flavonoids, glycosylates, and phytoestrogens. Sommer says that the best way to get them into your diet is to eat a wide variety of whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables.

Luckily for us Arizonans, our local famers produce a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, even through the winter months due to our climate! So, getting your hands on quality produce to up your phytonutrient intake is easy! While the term phytonutrient may sound complicated, the health benefits that they provide aren’t!

For more health-related articles, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

 

 

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What Makes Peppers Spicy?

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

 

When I was younger, I loved spicy foods. Anything and everything I ate had hot sauce added. Except for sweet things of course! Have you ever wondered what makes peppers spicy? And why some of them are milder and some are spicier? It’s all determined by the pepper’s capsaicin content.

 

Capsaicin is the main bioactive plant compound in peppers, and it’s best known for being responsible for their heat. Each variety of peppers has a different amount of capsaicin, resulting in various levels of spiciness. The Scoville scale is a measure used to determine how spicy peppers are. Bell peppers are at the bottom of the scale because they are far from spicy, while other peppers such as the Carolina Reaper pepper tops the scale because it is the spiciest pepper known!

Besides just being the source of the spice, capsaicin also offers two other health benefits as well.

Reduces Pain

Capsaicin binds with pain receptors or the nerve endings that sense pain which desensitizes them over time. This is one reason why you start to get used to spicier and spicier foods without the same burn you used to experience. But it doesn’t just boost our tolerance of spiciness, but its also been shown to reduce other pains as well.

 

Promotes Weight Loss

When consumed before meals, capsaicin has been found to both reduce appetite and subsequently caloric intake, which eventually leads to weight loss. It has also been shown to increase your body’s fat-burning capabilities which also results in weight loss.

So, there’s all the more reason to use peppers to flavor your foods! Not only will you be adding a nice kick of flavor, but you’ll also be getting a few health benefits too!

Arizona grows lots of peppers, such as jalapenos, green chiles, serrano, and habanero peppers. Grow some yourself or pick some up from your local grocery store of farmer’s market!

For more articles and recipes, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Pickle Soup?

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

One of my favorite foods of all time are pickles. I love them on my sandwiches and burgers, just plain out of the jar, and sometimes even on salads. Well, a friend of our family found out how much I liked pickles and gave us a recipe for Zupa Ogor Kowa, which is Polish Pickle Soup. Sounds very weird doesn’t it? I put pickles on everything, but in a soup just sounded plain wrong. Well, my mom made it one night and surprisingly, its really stinkin’ good!

Ingredients:

  • 1 White onion finely chopped
  • 1 Carrot finely chopped
  • 4 Cloves of garlic grated
  • 1 Large potato peeled and cubed
  • 4 Cups of chicken broth
  • 5 Whole pickles coarsely grated
  • 2 Tbs. Pickle juice
  • 1 ½ Tbs. Fresh dill chopped
  • 2 Tbs. Cream
  • 1/3 C. Fresh parsley chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Butter and olive oil for sautéing

Directions:

  • Heat butter and oil in a saucepan
  • Sauté onions and carrots for about 4 minutes
  • Add garlic and potatoes and sauté for about another 2 minutes
  • Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil
  • Cook until potatoes are soft
  • Add the grated pickles, dill, and pickle juice and simmer for 5 minutes
  • Add cream, parsley, salt, and pepper

This soup is creamy, salty, and slightly sour and is a great side dish to other meals. Its great served with crusty bread as well!

For more delicious recipes, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Healthy Chocolate Dipped Bananas!

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

If you’ve ever tried to make healthier versions of sweets and treats, you’ve probably come to realize that most aren’t really that good, or at least in comparison to their unhealthy counterparts. But there’s one healthy treat recipe that my mom and I make all the time that only takes three ingredients and has no added sugar!

Frozen Chocolate Dipped Banana Slices

 

What you’ll need:

  • 4-6 Bananas sliced
  • ½ C. Cocoa Powder
  • ½ C. Coconut Oil
  • Baking Sheet
  • Parchment Paper
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Fork

 

Directions:

Slice your bananas and lay them out on a parchment-lined baking tray and freeze till solid, 1-2 hours. Then, pull them out. In a mixing bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and coconut oil together with a fork. Then, peel off a frozen banana slice and quickly submerge it in the chocolate. As you pull it out, let some excess chocolate drip back into the bowl and then place it on the tray again. Repeat till all the bananas are done. Then, place them back into the freezer for another hour or so. Once they’re done, peel them all off, and place into a resealable container and store in the freezer!

A little note on the recipe, you can increase/decrease the amount that it makes, just keep a 1:1 ratio of oil to cocoa powder! Also, something that my mom and I have also tried is just adding a touch of vanilla or rum extract to the chocolate for a different flavor!

These frozen bananas are perfect if you’re looking for a sweet treat that actually tastes good and is made with no dairy, gluten, or added sugar! Plus, they are a perfect way to use up extra bananas!

For more healthy recipe ideas, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Gluten Free Flour Options!

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Do you or someone you know have an allergy or intolerance to gluten? If so, you probably know at least a bit of the struggle it can be to bake things that they can eat. With both my mom and I being gluten intolerant, we’ve had to search out and experiment with all sorts of flour substitutions, and we’ve found that there are more options out there than you’d think! Read on for a list of some good ones to use in your baking!

 

The following is a list of the flours my mom and I have personally tried and had good luck with!

  • Almond flour
  • Coconut flour
  • Oat flour
  • Brown rice flour
  • Cassava flour
  • Tapioca flour
  • Chickpea flour
  • White rice flour

 

The rest are other gluten-free flours that are available:

  • Buckwheat flour
  • Amaranth flour
  • Teff flour
  • Sorghum flour
  • Corn flour

Something that me and my mom learned, is that baked goods such as breads or cakes come out better if you mix flours together. Depending on what you’re baking, most recipes give you the appropriate ratios of individual flours to mix. Or there are pre-made baking mixes that you can buy from the store that can usually be used as a 1:1 replacement for regular flour. If you don’t have a pre-made mix or don’t have all the individual flours to mix for a recipe, I would say almond, oat and cassava come out the best when used on their own.

Also, these flours don’t just have to be used for baking. Some you can use in any other way you’d need flour, such as for breading other foods, as a thickener in soups or sauces, etc.

So, hopefully gluten-free baking doesn’t seem as intimidating now, since there are so many flour options available for you to use!

 

For more health-related articles, or for more recipes, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

 

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