Make This a Year of Fabulous Food Adventures!

Make This A Year Of Fabulous Food Adventures!





Are you craving more excitement in your life? Sometimes you need look no further than the end of your fork! Resolve to have at least one new food fling a month. Here are 12 possibilities to point you on your way.

1) Add A Little Spice To Your Life


Buy a new seasoning that intrigues you. Check label information for suggested uses and amounts. Spices and herbs are great ways to add flavor when you lower the salt, fat and/or sugar in a recipe.

2) Time For An Oil Change?


Make your next salad dressing with a flavorful "extra virgin" olive oil, or purchase some of the new flavored oils to drizzle (lightly!) over vegetables or pastas for added pizzazz!

3) Grab A New Grain


Venture beyond bread for more of your recommended six to 11 daily grain servings. How about amaranth or barley, bulgur or couscous? Buckwheat and quinoa, though not true grains, also count and may offer new adventures. Check the back of food packages for new recipe ideas. Note: Whole grains tend to be higher in fat content than refined grains and become rancid sooner. Buy from stores that have a fairly rapid turnover. Store in the refrigerator or freezer to help maintain quality longer.

4) Say Cheese!


In the book, "On Food and Cooking," Harold McGee says cheese probably has been around since 2300 B.C. If your history with cheese is limited to two or three favorites, you're missing out on centuries of cheese flavors! High in important bone-building calcium, there's a cheese for everyone: low fat, low sodium, sharp, mellow. Use less of a stronger flavored cheese to liven up a favorite dish.

5) Fancy A New Fruit


Take home a new fruit on your next supermarket trip or try different varieties of old favorites, such as apples.

6) Vary Your Vegetables


Instead of a baked potato, try a sweet potato; score an "A" for adventure as well as vitamin A. Pep up color and flavor by adding green, yellow and red peppers to your meals. Turn up the heat with hot peppers.

7) Go For The Green


Mix up your salad with a variety of greens; continue the adventure by sampling a new salad dressing. Combine greens with different textures, colors and flavors.

8) Encounter Another Culture


If you can't travel to another country, step through the door of a restaurant offering foods from a different culture. Check to see if there is a "sampler" plate so you can try a variety of foods.

9) Jump On The Bean Bandwagon


Black beans, red beans, garbanzo beans, adzuki beans, navy beans. . . Have you tried these beans yet? Serve them as a main dish or serve them on the side. Mix them into salads. Mash them and add a spice for a flavorful dip. Use them straight from the can, or cook up a bag. High in fiber, they make a healthy addition to your meals.

10) Pasta Possibilities


Try a different shape, color or flavor of pasta to add a new look to an old dish. As a rule of thumb, match larger and bolder pasta shapes with chunkier and more robust sauces.

11) Mix Up Your Main Dishes


Are you afraid to order a food you can't pronounce? Do you always choose your main dishes from the same menu food grouping? Venture out with some of your more adventurous friends and make it a point to order foods you've never eaten. Share the foods . . . and the fun!

12) Get Cooking With A New Cookbook


Browse through the cookbook section in your favorite bookstore or your local library. Review magazines and newsletters that offer recipes. When you find a recipe that makes your taste buds tingle, give it a try. Cookbooks are your passport to adventure right in your own kitchen!

Source: FoodTalk E-mail Newsletter, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County, http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/lanco/family/foodtalk.htm



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