Antioxidants and red pepper soup!

 Vitamins A, C, & E are antioxidants
 to get antioxidants you have got to eat your fruits and vegetables!!

Vitamin C – berries, kiwi fruit (higher concentration than oranges), citrus fruit, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, green leafy vegetables and bell peppers
Vitamin E – nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cereals, oats, grains, eggs and olive oil
Vitamin A – carrots, apricots, cantaloupe, parsley, spinach, kale and sweet potatoes

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Antioxidants help your body handle free radicals. Free radicals are wandering molecules looking for trouble.

They are molecules that are one atom short to being "complete" or whole.  So they go around the body looking for the atom they need and stealing it from other molecules. When they steal an atom from another healthy molecule, they leave it damaged.

What an antioxidant does is "donate" atoms to these free radicals. This means that the free radical is now a rehabilitated citizen of the body. And the antioxidant is none that worse for wear.

A free radical left unchecked causes cellular damage that can lead to anything from pre-mature skin aging to cancer.

Congratulations, you are now a scientist!! :)

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Bell Peppers are loaded in Vitamin C! So here is a recipe for some delicious Vitamin C soup!

Creamy Red Bell Pepper Soup

• 4 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 24 fluid ounces chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Place the red bell pepper, onion and garlic in the saucepan and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender.                
        
 2. Pour in the chicken broth, stirring well, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree til smooth,3. Run the soup through a strainer and return the liquid to the saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and the ground black pepper and allow to heat through, about 5 to 10 minutes.

ENJOY.

Springtime!

Although I love fall and winter, they seemed to last forever!! So to celebrate spring I wanted to share this recipe for delicious SPRINGROLLS!! (Corny segue, I know.) They serve these in the student center at school. :) They are a great way to get some fresh veggies in.

So you will need: (for 6 servings)

6 spring roll wrappers made from Rice flour (available in Asian markets)

12 medium shrimp, cooked and shelled (optional)

1 cup shredded leaf lettuce

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber

1 medium carrot, julienned

 1 avocado sliced thinly longways

Directions

1. In a bowl of cool water, soak a wrapper until limp. Lay wrapper out flat. Place 1/6 of each ingredient down middle of wrapper, starting with lettuce. Fold over each end and tightly roll the wrapper around the contents, as if making a burrito. Moisten at seam; press to close.         
        
2.  Lay on plate, cover with moist paper towel and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The most important step now is to slather it in Sweet Chili dipping sauce!!!

• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons hot chile pepper, minced
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

1. Pour water and vinegar into a saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in sugar, ginger, garlic, chile pepper, and ketchup; simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cornstarch. Remove saucepan from stove to cool. Then transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

**If you don't feel like making the chili sauce another great dip is Newman's Own low-fat Sesame ginger dressing**

WELCOME SPRING!!!

Garvan Gardens, Hot Springs, AR

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P.S. Due to a very tragic technololgy explosion, I lost most of my old blog posts from last year. So if you are having trouble finding them, that is why...I AM DEVISTATED!!!!