8/11/19

Word for the Day: Healthier Desserts

Tis the season of my favorite fruit—blueberries and peaches. What a wonderful way to get our daily dose of antioxidants.

The Mayo Clinic explains the importance of getting antioxidants in our diet. “They [antioxidants] help minimize the impact of free radicals, which are an unstable byproduct of natural cell metabolism. Free radicals also are found in the environment, in exposure to sunlight, air pollution and cigarette smoke. Free radicals trigger cell and tissue damage through a process called oxidation. This damage may play a part in the development of many different diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and some eye diseases.” https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/a-grocery-bag-of-beneficial-antioxidants/

If you are lucky enough to live in a rural area and can go buy a bushel of local peaches or have wonderful family that picks blueberries for you, you may be wondering what to do with all of your fruit if you do not can or freeze them. I make some old fashioned sauces that I can keep in the refrigerator for weeks. They are perfect toppings for ice cream, yogurt or homemade shortcake.

Here are my versions of some old fashioned fruit sauce recipes.

Heidi’s Peach Sauce:

4 ripe peaches

½ cup water

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Cut up peaches into cubes.  Mix sugar, cornstarch and water in a pan.  Bring to boil.  Add the peaches and stir for a couple more minutes.  Add vanilla extract, cinnamon.  Stir well and then remove from heat.

Heidi’s blueberry sauce:

3 cups blueberries

1/4 c sugar

3 tsp cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

4 teaspoons lemon juice

2 tsp grated lemon peel

a handful of chia seeds

Combine sugar, starch, salt. Stir in water until smooth. Add blueberries, lemon juice, lemon peel. Bring to boil stirring constantly.

Buen provecho! Smakelijk eten! Bon apetit! Guten Appetit!