Berry Trifle Recipe, Spotlight on Stawberries, A Smart Way to Satisfy Food Cravings, and Are You Running on Empty?
This lavish crowd-pleaser can be made in advance and is perfect for any July 4th celebration. Even better, enjoying a few spoonfuls could be the answer to satisfying a craving for sweets—rather than derailing healthy eating plans, smartly indulging can keep you on track, according to a new study from the University of Illinois. I’m also sharing new findings on how to best fuel before exercise—turns out that women may not be getting all the nutrients they need to exercise effectively.
A Very Berry 4th of July Trifle
A Very Berry 4th of July TrifleWith all the components premade, this layered dessert of cake, custard, berries, and cream can be assembled in minutes…and up to 6 hours in advance. A footed trifle bowl is elegant, but any clear glass serving bowl that lets the layers show will create a festive presentation.
Ingredients
For the custard:
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of sea salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 whole eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the assembly:
- 1 quart or more mixed berries, preferably blueberries and strawberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 cups whipping cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 olive oil chiffon cake recipe, 1 pound cake, or 1 package ladyfingers
Directions
Step 1
Make the custard: In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt, then whisk in the yolks followed by the whole eggs. Continue whisking until the mixture turns light yellow; set aside.
Step 2
Place the milk in a saucepan and scald—you should see a light skin start to form, but don’t let it come to a boil. Vigorously whisk 1/4 cup milk into the egg mixture, then slowly whisk in the rest. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 2 minutes (lower the heat as needed to prevent scorching). It should become quite thick.
Step 3
Remove from the heat. Whisk in the olive oil and vanilla and transfer to a glass bowl. Let it cool to room temperature, then press a round of parchment paper over the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, 4 hours up to overnight.
Step 4
Rinse and hull the strawberries. Set aside 6 of the best ones for a garnish and halve or slice the rest. Rinse the blueberries and pat dry; reserve a few for the garnish and add the rest to a large bowl with the cut strawberries. Toss with the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; wait 20 or more minutes before assembly or refrigerate until needed, up to a day in advance.
Step 5
Whip the cream and the confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form; place in fridge for up to 6 hours if not using right away.
Step 6
Assemble the trifle: If using cake, cut into 1-inch cubes. Spread a dollop of custard across the bottom of your serving bowl; add a layer of ladyfingers or cake cubes. Top with half the remaining custard and half the berries. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers or cake and the rest of the custard and the berries. Top with the whipped cream and decorate with the remaining berries. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 6 hours before serving.
Yields 10 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Strawberry Storage
High in fiber, vitamin C, and other antioxidants, strawberries also deliver potassium, folate, and magnesium. But they also have a tendency to get moldy when moisture gets trapped between the berries, especially in typical clamshell plastic containers. A simple storage trick is to unpack them as soon as you get home and transfer them, unwashed, to a paper towel-lined glass container—line them up upside down, leaving a bit of room between them, and store in the fridge, uncovered, suggest the experts at the Utah State University Extension. Wash them just before hulling (a curved grapefruit knife works great) and blot dry with fresh paper towels.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Sugaring Berries
Ripe berries are delicious just as they are, but when you’re cutting them to use in recipes like trifle, tossing them in a small amount of sugar both helps release their juices, creating a natural syrup, and enhances their sweetness. Simply toss the fruit with the sugar in a bowl—1 tablespoon per cup of fruit—and wait between 20 and 60 minutes before using.
For Your Best Health
A Smart Way to Satisfy Food Cravings
Are you in a constant battle with food cravings? Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign may have a solution. Their study, published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, found that eating dessert may be the optimal strategy for losing weight, keeping it off, and keeping cravings at bay: Incorporate craved foods into a balanced meal plan.
Researcher Nouf W. Alfouzan, PhD, and nutrition professor Manabu T. Nakamura, PhD, found that dieters’ food cravings decreased while they were losing weight and remained minimal as long as they did not regain weight. Said Dr. Nakamura, “Cravings are a big problem for many people. If they have a lot of cravings, it is very difficult to lose weight. Even when they are able to control their cravings and lose weight, if the cravings come back, they regain the weight.
“We recruited obese patients ages 18 to 75 who had comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes and could benefit from losing weight,” he added. The participants were part of a larger project conducted with physicians at Carle Clinic in Urbana that aimed to broaden the outreach of an in-person weight-loss program called the Individualized Dietary Improvement Program by converting it to an online format called EMPOWER.
Although many dieters reported in prior research that their cravings decreased while they were losing weight, it was unclear whether these changes persisted when they reached their weight-loss goal or quit dieting while trying to maintain their weight. Dr. Alfouzan wanted to investigate that, along with whether reduced cravings correlated with greater weight loss.
The dietary program used in the study educated dieters about key nutrients, helping them make informed decisions about their food selections until sustainable dietary changes were achieved, Dr. Nakamura detailed. Dieters used a data visualization tool that plots foods’ protein, fiber, and calories so they could enhance nutrition while minimizing the calories they consumed. “If you are eating and snacking randomly, it’s very hard to control,” he said. “Some dietary programs exclude certain foods. Our plan used an ‘inclusion strategy,’ in which people incorporated small portions of craved foods within a well-balanced meal.”
Every six months, participants completed a questionnaire about their cravings for specific foods, such as high-fat foods like hot dogs and fried chicken, fast-food fats like those in hamburgers and chips, sweets like cakes and cookies, and carbohydrates like biscuits and pancakes. The researchers also assessed the frequency and intensity of participants’ cravings with another survey. Using a scale ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (always), individuals rated themselves on statements such as “Whenever I have food cravings, I find myself making plans to eat” and “I have no willpower to resist my food cravings.” The intensity of each dieter’s cravings was calculated by adding their scores for a total of 15 statements. Dieters also weighed in daily after getting out of bed and before breakfast using a Wi-Fi scale that transmitted the data to the researchers so they could track the changes.
A total of 30 people began the weight-loss program, and the 24 who remained at the end of the first year had lost an average of 7.9 percent of their starting weight. Of these, 20 completed a yearlong maintenance program, but because a few regained some of what they had lost, their average weight loss was 6.7 percent, the researchers found. Participants who lost more than 5 percent by the end of the study experienced consistent reductions in the frequency and intensity of their cravings, while those who lost less than that did not.
The team also found that individuals’ craving for food in general and for specific types of foods such as sweets and carbohydrates diminished during the year of weight loss and stabilized during maintenance. Of the 24 participants who remained in the study at 12 months, more than half reported they used the inclusion strategy to manage cravings—some people used it as frequently as one to three times a day, while others used it once a week or more. Those who used the strategy lost significantly more weight compared with other participants and experienced significant reductions in their cravings for sweet and high-fat foods, the researchers found.
The study suggests that individuals’ reduced cravings correlated with decreased body fat rather than the negative energy balance of dieting, Dr. Nakamura said. “This basically debunks the hungry fat cell theory, a long-standing hypothesis that fat cells become starved for energy and trigger cravings, causing dieters to eat and ultimately regain what they lost. But that is not the case. As long as you stay at a healthy weight, your cravings will remain low.” Consistency is another key to managing cravings and weight, he said. “Fluctuations in eating patterns, meal times and amounts trigger cravings, too. You have to be consistent.”
Fitness Flash
Are You Running on Empty?
Proper nutrition is crucial for enhancing athletic performance, supporting recovery, and maintaining overall health. A study from the University of South Australia (UniSA) reveals that proper nutrition is also key to reducing the risk of injury, especially for women.
In a systematic review of nearly 6,000 adult distance runners, researchers examined the link between diet and exercise-related injury. They found that lower energy and fat intakes were strongly associated with a higher risk of injury in female runners and that a low-fiber diet increased the likelihood of bone stress injuries in both female and male runners.
Specifically, injured female runners consumed 450 fewer calories and 20 grams less fat per day than their uninjured counterparts. Both injured female and male runners took in three grams less daily fiber compared to those who remained injury free. Interestingly, runners’ intakes of protein, carbohydrates, alcohol, and calcium did not influence injury risk.
Sports dietitian and UniSA researcher Erin Colebatch said nutrition plays a crucial role in reducing injury risk. “Distance running is a popular activity for many people, helping them stay healthy and keep fit. Yet about 50 percent of adult runners sustain running-related injuries,” Colebatch said. “Nutrition is key to optimizing athletic performance, providing the energy, recovery support, and injury prevention needed to maintain both endurance and overall health. Many long-distance runners underestimate their energy needs. When they don’t fuel their bodies properly, they increase their injury risk. Recognizing the impact of diet on injury risk helps minimize it.”
UniSA Senior Researcher Dr. Alison Hill said that clinicians need to support female runners to achieve sufficient energy and fat intakes while guiding all runners to optimize their fiber consumption. “When runners don’t consume enough energy, their body’s needs go unmet, which over time can lead to issues like skeletal demineralization, loss of lean body mass, fatigue, and stress fractures,” Dr. Hill said. “While this research offers valuable insights for runners of all levels, additional studies are necessary to explore how these findings apply to a broader range of athletic abilities.”
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