My love of bright colors is evident in my home, wardrobe and even the foods that I prepare. When spring and summer arrive, brightly colored fruits and vegetables are available for purchase. Not only are they pleasing to the eye, but also good for you, too. The color of foods also contains many benefits for our health and well-being.
Red foods include beets, strawberries, red bell pepper, cranberries, tomatoes, radishes, raspberries, red grapefruit, watermelon, red potatoes, pomegranates and cherries. Major benefits of the red foods are to promote heart health, help lower cancer risks and protect against memory loss.
Orange and yellow foods include carrots, cantaloupe, pumpkin, corn, oranges, lemons, sweet potatoes, mangoes, yellow squash, mangoes, peaches, apricots and yellow peppers. Major benefits of orange and yellow foods include supporting the immune system, vision health, reducing cancer risks, promoting collagen formation and healthy joints.
Green foods include dark lettuce, kiwi, avocados, cucumbers, celery, honeydew, green beans, okra, broccoli and asparagus. Major benefits of green foods include promoting vision health, to lower blood pressure, normalize digestion time, boost immune systems and reduce cancer risks.
Blue and purple foods include blackberries, blueberries, purple grapes, figs, plums, eggplant, raisins and purple cabbage. Major benefits of this group include increasing memory function, lower LLD cholesterol, improve urinary tract health, reducing cancer risks and to encourage healthful aging.
Let’s all put some color in our lives – even in our food!
Yellow has always been one of my favorite colors. It evokes thoughts of warm weather and long summer days. I love seeing those first few yellow daffodils springing up to announce the arrival of spring. As a young girl living at home, I had a yellow room and later chose to have a yellow wedding. What a bright, cheerful color! I also love the flavor of lemon. I always have fresh lemons in my refrigerator. A slice or wedge can perk up anything – even a glass of ice water. Hope you enjoy today’s lemon recipes. Thanks for reading.
LEMON CHICKEN
(This is one of my family’s favorite. The sauce served over the rice is delicious!)
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup lemon juice
1 stick butter
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. pepper
Melt butter in sauce pan; add lemon juice and spices. Place chicken in a lightly greased baking dish and pour sauce over. Bake for one hour, basting occasionally. Serve over cooked rice.
BLUEBERRY LEMON BREAD
¼ cup to 2 tbl. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup milk
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 cup fresh blueberries
Glaze:
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
Cream butter and sugar until combined; add eggs and beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. All grated lemon rind and gently fold in blueberries. Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Combine the glaze ingredients and heat in saucepan until sugar dissolves. Puncture top of baked bread in several places with a toothpick and gently pour glaze over warm bread to allow mixture to soak into bread. Cool in pan for 30 minutes before completely cooling on a wire rack.
LEMON SQUARES
2 cups plain flour
½ cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
Soften the oleo and add dry ingredients; mix well. Spray a 9 x 12 inch baking dish with cooking spray and pat dough into the bottom of the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned.
Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ cup flour
Mix these ingredients together and pour over crust. Put dish back in the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar after removing from the oven. Cool and cut into squares.
