This refreshing salad makes a fine accompaniment to any rich main course, especially beef, pork, or pasta. Licorice-y fennel pairs beautifully with orange segments (called supremes) and an olive oil vinaigrette. It has a dense texture, so be sure to slice it thinly.
Ingredients
2 large navel oranges
1 large or 2 smaller fennel bulbs
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Spanish sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
3 loosely packed cups baby arugula
1/4 cup toasted Marcona almonds, roughly chopped
Directions
Step 1
Following the curve of the fruit, trim the peel and white pith off the oranges. Using a sharp knife and working over a bowl, cut between the membranes to release the orange segments. Squeeze the membranes in your fist over the bowl to release any juice.
Step 2
Trim the feathery fronds from the fennel and reserve. Remove any blemished outer layers. Trim the stem. Cut the fennel bulb(s) lengthwise into quarters, then slice each quarter into very thin wedges. Place in the bowl with the oranges.
Step 3
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon of each) in a jar with a tight-fitting lid; shake vigorously to combine. Taste, adding more salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the oranges and fennel and toss gently to mix.
Step 4
Scatter the arugula over a platter or shallow bowl. Tip the orange and fennel mixture evenly over the top. Scatter the almonds over the salad. Garnish with a few fennel fronds.
Serves 4 to 6 — Recipe courtesy of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club
Adapted from an article by Timothy Huzar in Medical News Today, December 15, 2020
In a recent study, scientists compared the effects of a Mediterranean diet with those of a low-fat diet on key biological processes linked to heart health.
The researchers found that a Mediterranean diet could improve endothelial function in people with coronary heart disease. The endothelium is a thin membrane that coats the inside of blood vessels and the heart. It plays a number of roles that are important for the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Heart disease
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, heart disease accounts for around 1 in 4 deaths in the United States, making it the leading cause of death. Modifying the diet is a keyway to reduce the risk of heart disease. For many years, researchers have demonstrated the benefits of a Mediterranean diet on heart health. It includes olive oil, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fruits, and whole grains, with small amounts of dairy and meat and a moderate amount of fish and red wine. Health experts, including the American Heart Association (AHA), have also linked low-fat diets with improvements in heart health. This type of diet contains reduced amounts of all types of fat and increased amounts of complex carbohydrates.
The team behind the present study set out to test the effects of each type of diet on the endothelium because endothelial dysfunction is a predictor of cardiovascular disease. According to Prof. José López-Miranda, the corresponding author of the study and coordinator of the Nutritional Genomics and Metabolic Syndrome research group at the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba, in Spain:
The degree of endothelial damage predicts the occurrence of future cardiovascular events, as in acute myocardial infarctions. If we can take action at the initial stages, prompting endothelium regeneration and better endothelial function, we can help prevent heart attacks and heart disease from reoccurring.
The researchers analyzed data gathered as part of the Coronary Diet Intervention with Olive Oil and Cardiovascular Prevention study, an ongoing, single-blind, randomized, controlled study. The study included 1,002 people with coronary heart disease who had not had a coronary event in the past 6 months. The researchers determined a baseline level of endothelial dysfunction among the participants. They then assigned the participants to two groups: one followed a Mediterranean diet for 1 year, and the other followed a low-fat diet for 1 year.
At the end of the year, the team measured the participants’ endothelial function again. In total, 805 participants completed the study.
Compared with the low-fat diet, the Mediterranean diet significantly improved the participants’ endothelial function—no matter how severe the dysfunction had been.
The researchers also found that the Mediterranean diet resulted in improved levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and reductions in fasting glucose and C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) among the participants, compared with the low-fat diet.
The findings suggest that switching to a Mediterranean diet could help reduce the known risk of endothelial damage, coronary heart disease, and future coronary events.
Reference: Yubero-Serrano EM, Fernandez-Gandara C, Garcia-Rios A, et al. Mediterranean diet and endothelial function in patients with coronary heart disease: an analysis of the CORDIOPREV randomized controlled trial. PLOS Med. 2020;17(9):e1003282. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003282
Candied Orange and Olive Oil Sundaes, Spotlight on Oranges, Weight Loss and Citrus, How to Select Ripe Fruit and Chronic Inflammation and Exercise
Are you limiting your olive oil use to main courses and apps? Olive oil is becoming a star ingredient in many baked desserts, but I fell in love with drizzling it over sweets in unexpected ways, as with this week’s recipe for exquisite sundaes. You can take it up a notch by churning your own ice cream if you have a machine. Making your own candied peels is even easier—no special equipment is required, and no part of the fruit other than the bitter pith is wasted. This recipe uses oranges, but the technique works just as well with lemons and grapefruit.
Forget sauces and sprinkles. Vibrantly fresh extra virgin olive oil enhances these sophisticated sundaes.
Ingredients
2 oranges
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
2 pints homemade or best-quality packaged vanilla ice cream
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Remove the zest from both oranges with a bartender’s zester, which removes it in long strips. Alternatively, make wide strips with a sharp paring knife, peel them away from the sections, cut away any excess pith, and slice them into long slivers. Bring the 1/2 cup of sugar and the water to a rapid boil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Let it boil for 5 minutes, and then add the zest strips. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the strips are translucent, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander. You can reserve the flavored syrup for another use, such as sweetening tea or drizzling over a loaf cake. Toss the zest strips with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar (a resealable plastic bag works well for this) and set them on a rack to dry for a half hour or longer.
When you’re ready to serve the sundaes, place a scoop of ice cream in each of 6 highball glasses or ice cream dishes. Make a depression in each scoop with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then top with a tangle of candied zest and a pinch of the flaky salt. Repeat all the layers in each dish—a second scoop of ice cream, olive oil, zest, and sea salt. Serve at once.
Serves 6
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Expand Your Orange Palate
Vitamin C-rich citrus is a wintertime fruit essential, but don’t limit yourself to the ubiquitous navel orange. Treat yourself to newer citrus varieties and enjoy intense flavors as you get your fill of essential nutrients. Bergamot oranges are unique in that they provide the oil that infuses Earl Grey tea. Melogold grapefruit are amazingly sweet, while mandarinquats, a hybrid of mandarin oranges and kumquats, have a tart and sweet profile. If you swear by navels, you’ll love the richer taste of Cara Cara oranges, perfect juiced or eaten in sections. Blood oranges are another highly flavorful citrus with a deep orange-red color. Valentine pummelos, a hybrid of blood and mandarin oranges, go one step further. Most unusual of all is the Buddha’s hand citron—imagine a lemon that grew a tangle of fingers! It’s excellent for zest—in fact, it’s all zest plus pith, so buy it to make candied peel or simply use your Microplane grater to create fine zest for recipes or to finish your favorite fish dish.
Healthy Kitchen Nugget
How to Select Ripe Fruit
Choosing citrus can seem complicated at first because it needs to be picked when ripe, which sometimes is hard to determine because of the thick peel. The fruit should have bright and fairly uniform color and feel firm. Unlike fruits that can be kept on the counter, citrus fruits do better in the fridge but should be in a bag that allows air to circulate around them. Try putting them in the fruit and vegetable compartment, and rotate them often, making sure they stay dry to avoid developing mold. For easier juicing, let the fruit come to room temperature before squeezing. If you think you won’t use up citrus before it goes bad, make juice and freeze it in ice cube trays. Transfer the cubes to a freezer bag when they’re set, and use them for recipes or to brighten a glass of water or seltzer.
For Your Best Health
Weight Loss and Citrus
Need another reason to increase the citrus in your diet? A study published in Nutrients in 2020 found that eating more fruits and vegetables can increase weight loss in women, who often have a harder time shedding pounds than men. Researchers analyzing results from both observational studies and randomized controlled trials found consistent evidence that eating more fruit and vegetables is a chief contributor to weight loss, especially when you also limit typical high-calorie foods like refined carbs. Eat them most often in their whole form, which is more filling, plus you’ll get more of their fiber. From a health perspective, research just published in Circulation found longevity benefits for both men and women from eating the well-known “5 a day,” but with a specific breakdown: three veggies and two fruits.
Fitness Flash
Chronic Inflammation and Exercise
You already know the importance of muscle to keep you active and to burn additional calories. Now biomedical engineers at Duke University have shown in lab studies using specially engineered muscle fibers that human muscle has an innate ability to ward off the damaging effects of chronic inflammation when exercised. With high levels of inflammation being a threat to good health, anything that tamps it down is great news.
“Lots of processes are taking place throughout the human body during exercise, and it is difficult to tease apart which systems and cells are doing what inside an active person,” said Duke professor Nenad Bursac, PhD. “We discovered that the muscle cells were capable of taking anti-inflammatory actions all on their own.” Looked at from the opposite direction, high levels of inflammation in the body can eat away at muscle over time. That could be another reason it’s important for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis to maintain an exercise routine.
“These results show just how valuable lab-grown human muscles might be in discovering new mechanisms of disease and potential treatments. There are notions out there that optimal levels and regimes of exercise could fight chronic inflammation while not over-stressing the cells. Maybe with our engineered muscle, we can help find out if such notions are true,” said Dr. Bursac.
Shrimp with Pimentón and Garlic and Spicy Roasted Almonds, Spotlight on Pimentón Peppers, Plus the Benefits of Regularly Stretching
For most people who love to cook, paprika is a pantry staple. And you may even have both half-sharp and sweet paprika for different recipes. But I want to introduce you to a completely different type of spice made from dried red peppers, one that doesn’t come from Hungary but rather from Spain—pimentón. Bordering Portugal, the Spanish region of Extremadura isn’t as well known as other areas of the country, yet it’s special in its own right for the mountains, lakes, and the striking area of La Vera, in the province of Cáceres, where the peppers that become pimentón are grown. The distinct flavor of pimentón comes not only from the climate, but also from a unique, centuries-old smoking process. And, in turn, it’s pimentón that gives the region’s famed chorizo and other pork products their distinctive flavor and color.
This classic Spanish tapas offering is great for a delicious dinner that’s ready in about 5 minutes!
Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, peeled
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pimentón
1 pound large or extra-large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
Mince the garlic and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow its healthful compound allicin to develop. Heat a large skillet, add the oil, and sauté the garlic until soft. Stir in the pimentón and then add the shrimp in one layer (if they don’t all fit, cook them in two batches). Cook for 1 minute and then flip the shrimp and cook for another minute until opaque. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the shrimp and serve.
Add some spice to the healthful nuts you’re snacking on. Roasted almonds also make a great addition to a charcuterie or cheese board. Feel free to substitute other nuts such as hazelnuts, cashews, walnut halves, or pistachios for the almonds. If you own a smoker, try smoke-roasting the nuts the next time you fire it up.
Ingredients
2 cups whole skinless almonds (about 7 ounces)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarsely ground sea salt to taste
1-1/4 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera) or ground cumin
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Put the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until they are evenly coated, then spread them out in a single layer. Roast the almonds until they are a light golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Step 2
Transfer the almonds to a bowl, season with salt and paprika, and toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Yields 6-8 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Pimentón Peppers
All peppers were brought to Spain from the Americas, but the peppers used to make pimentón have a history all their own, having been given to monks at the Yuste monastery in La Vera by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The monks were the first to dry them and turn them into a powder. Peppers later made their way to the rest of Europe, notably Hungary, where the unsmoked version of the powder became that country’s classic spice, paprika.
The pimentón process remains labor-intensive. After being handpicked, the peppers go to a two-story smokehouse. On the first story is an oak fire that burns around the clock. The peppers are placed on the second story. For two weeks, they’re continually bathed in the aromatic heat and regularly rotated for even crispness. The spice’s full name is Pimentón de La Vera DOP. DOP is shorthand for designation of protected origin and is bestowed when a specific region is recognized as producing certain foods with special local characteristics.
Healthy Kitchen Nugget
Stock Your Pantry with Pimentón
Pimentón defines many Spanish dishes, such as shrimp with pimentón and garlic, patatas bravas, and paella. It’s also wonderful in deviled eggs, dry rubs and marinades for barbecues, and, for the adventurous, homemade sausages. It marries perfectly with extra virgin olive oil to add heat to any sauté or to popcorn made on the stovetop. I love it on braised greens and cooked legumes.
For Your Best Health
Power of Peppers
Peppers have among the highest levels of antioxidants of any vegetable, including bioactive compounds like vitamin C, phenolics, and carotenoids (the source of their color), all strong disease fighters. The carotenoids include zeaxanthin and lutein, good for eye health, according to International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Pimentón’s spiciness comes from capsaicin, a compound with anti-inflammatory properties. While the amount of all this goodness in a little pinch of the spice is small, all those little pinches can add up to help meet micronutrient needs.
Fitness Flash
Two Types of Stretching
If you’re a runner, you already know the value of stretching as part of a prep routine, but everyone can reap the benefits of regular stretching: better range of motion, added flexibility, reduced risk of injury and post-workout tightness, and increased circulation to deliver more nutrients to muscle fibers. It can also improve posture, reduce stress, and help you move with ease during everyday tasks.
There are actually two types of stretching. Dynamic stretching involves moving each joint through a full range of motion without stopping between repetitions. Do dynamic stretching before you start to exercise to loosen up.
Static stretching involves easing into a stretch and holding it for 20 to 30 seconds. Release the stretch and then repeat the process for a total of three times before moving to the next one. Do static stretching after exercise to lengthen muscles while they’re warm. Start with these static stretches from ACE Fitness.
