This brings me to what I think is the perfect food. When I was pregnant, all those years ago, I tried to convince my obstetrician that I had the perfect snack for a pregnant woman: A banana split.

Seriously!

Look at it this way. You have your banana. Bananas are high in potassium*, which we need to help regulate blood pressure, replace potassium that was lost due to exercise or sweating (low potassium can cause muscle cramping and heart irregularities), and it helps balance the sodium in your body. A banana that’s about 9 inches can have up to 602 mg of potassium, only 140 calories, 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Pretty amazing for one piece of fruit!

Ok, after your banana, you have your ice cream. Ice cream is a great dairy source and there are now low-fat ice creams that are available if you’re watching your fat intake.

Then you have your fruit. A typical banana split has some strawberries, cherries, and pineapple. According to a press release issued last week by the Cherry Marketing Institute , ” studies have shown that the anthocyanins in tart cherries and other red foods may have anti-inflammatory benefits,” thus helping manage arthritis pain.

Cherries also contain flavonoids called anthocyanins– naturally occurring pigment compounds that provides fruit, vegetables, and plants with their color. Flavonoids, which contain antioxidants, help remove toxins from the body.

Strawberries are a popular fruit. They are rich in vitamin C and fiber, folate, potassium and antioxidants. They’re also low in calories.

Pineapple is a fun fruit that isn’t quite as popular as some others. It’s a very health fruit though. It’s considered an excellent source of the trace mineral manganese,  vitamin C and a good source of vitamin B1, copper, dietary fiber and vitamin B6.

After the fruit, you may have some peanuts. Peanuts are healthy, although they can be a bit heavy on the calories. They’re high in protein and a good source for the vitamins our body needs.

And then you have the whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Well, the whipped cream can be added dairy and, well, if you’re pregnant, what’s a few extra calories from the chocolate? Plus, if you switch to dark chocolate, you’re talking a whole different thing.

*certain people may be warned against eating bananas because their body can’t handle all the potassium. Check with your doctor if you have a heart condition that may make this the case for you.

Sadly, my doctor wasn’t convinced and neither have any others I’ve tried this theory on. But my idea still stands.

So, what are you going to eat today?

~~~~

Images: Stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

It’s Eat What You Want Day!

Mini Lobster Frittata with Pineapple Mango Salsa  
MINI LOBSTER FRITTATA
(Makes four Frittatas)

• 8 oz Lobster meat, Knuckles and Claws, chopped
• 4oz cream cheese
• 6 eggs, whipped
• tsp chives, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
PINEAPPLE MANGO SALSA

• 8oz fresh pineapple, finely diced
• 4oz fresh mango, finely diced
• TBS finely diced red bell pepper
• tsp chopped fresh cilantro
• TBS vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
 
Directions:

Spray muffin pan with nonstick spray. Take ¼ of chopped lobster meat and combine with ¼ of cream cheese and place in muffin pan. Repeat four times. Add ¼ of whipped eggs to each of the four muffin pans. Top with chopped chives. Salt and pepper to taste. Set entire muffin pan in a water bath and place on middle rack of a 400 degree preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until egg is set. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before removing from muffin pan. Place in a serving plate and garnish with pineapple mango salsa.

Recipe by permission from BnBFinder.com and A Cardinal House

Image credit: A Cardinal House

Post from: Blisstree

Brunch Recipe: Lobster Frittata

Did you make a guess yet?

What sort of structure will it be? Let’s see…

Strawberry structures! Here’s the deal. I’ve been sort of obsessing over the Strawberry Fields Forever cover by Ben Harper; for like a week. This is odd because:

1. I usually hate covers (I like maybe five – ten cover tunes period).
2. It’s not like I hadn’t heard this song before. I heard it when it first came out a LONG time ago. In fact, I really like I Am Sam, the movie it comes from.
3. As far as Beatles tunes go, SFF rates fairly low on my list of favorites. I love the Beatles, but was never into this particular song one way or the other.

I have issues.

I figured this would make a good classic post though, so here we go; some offbeat classic strawberry structures…

To learn more about these strawberry structures, or to see even more fruity structures, visit the original Offbeat Homes post, Sweet Fruity Structures.

As an extra treat, here’s the album version of my song obsession, just in case you need to hear it. There are some live versions floating around too, but oddly, I don’t enjoy them.

Post from: Blisstree

Classic Offbeat Homes: No one I think is in my tree…

There is another pineapple house. Or rather, extra large pineapple structure.

No windows though. Probably solid through and through.

If you don’t have room for a mansion like this, or the ability to breathe under water, you can always do something with your yard that reflects your tropical fruit side.  All you need is a lot of yellow flowers and some patience.

Or there’s always something like Sergey Tkachenko’s egg house — which personally, I’ve always felt resembled an apple more so than an egg.

If juicy is more your scene, then why not pick a strawberry house (get it, “pick a”) I need to stop.

Or this one…

Yummy homes, right. Who wants one?  Actually, I don’t think fruit is so much my style — unless I’m munching.

Post from: Blisstree

Sweet Fruity Structures