Five Reasons To Love Grapes
Grapes are a favorite fruit nationwide and it’s no surprise considering they are popular in all forms–fresh, dried (raisins), and the liquid form (grape juice). Grapes are also readily available year-round in your local supermarket, which makes it easy to add them to your daily diet. Here are the top five reasons I rate grapes as a ‘go-to’ fruit for snacking and more:
- Versatile – Grapes are wonderful eaten alone, added to green salad (think sweet and savory) or included in other fruit creations. I’ll show you some interesting options later in this blog.
- Nutrition – Flavonols (antioxidants) that are found in grapes have been shown to benefit the cardiovascular system. Grapes are also fat free, low in sodium, cholesterol free and a 3/4 cup is only 90 calories.
- Portable – Grapes make a wonderful snack that travels well since you can easily carry them around with you. They are perfect for taking along to the beach, pool, picnics, sporting events or car rides.
- Kid-Friendly – Little hands can easily snack on grapes and children love their sweet flavor. As a parent, you’ll feel good they are eating something healthy too!
- Taste – Green or red, you can’t go wrong. Grapes sweet flavor is something you can always count on and they never go out of season.
I mentioned how versatile grapes are and I wanted to share a few recipes using grapes you might not typically create. Broccoli Grape Harvest Salad combines different flavors to create a fresh salad that is flavorful and healthy. Broccoli, grapes, pasta, onion, turkey bacon, and pecans are combined with a light dressing you’ll create from scratch.
Photo courtesy of Eat Yourself Skinny
Roasted Grapes with Thyme, Fresh Ricotta and Grilled Bread is a wonderful appetizer. The ingredients are basic–grapes, olive oil, salt, thyme sprigs, rustic bread and ricotta cheese. A really simple, yet elegant dish.
Photo courtesy of Alexandra’s Kitchen
Pecan Crunch Grape Salad will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. I modify this recipe to reduce the amount of sugar used in the crunch topping and I use reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream as well to lighten the recipe even further without losing any taste.
Photo courtesy of Deliciously Sprinkled
Fruits & Veggies–More Matters features this Grape and Cashew Salad Sandwich as one of their healthy plates. It’s a perfect lunch entrée and combines low-fat cottage cheese, red grapes, cashews, and fresh parsley for a delicious sandwich spread.
I hope you enjoy these fresh recipes and I’ll return next week with some ways to use tomatoes from your garden.
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