Monday, May 6, 2013

Salads around the world


Hotels in India gave me fruit salad for breakfast, often melon and fruits I could not recognise. That seemed strange. But now I look for fruit in hotels, as well as, or instead of, fried food.
   At home my fruit salad is always made with fruit of the day. Ideally I include some red fruit and some green, mainly because that gives a variety of nutrients. But it's also attractive to look at.
    Start with apples, sliced or cubed. Add grapes, red and green. If available add strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. I always add kiwi fruit or dried apricots for potassium which cures or prevents cramp. On holiday when away for a weekend, not crossing borders where importing fruit is banned, I can carry a bunch of grapes, a packet of dried apricots and some nuts. It's easier in a hotel if you have a buffet breakfast or breakfast in your room. Then you can add what you want.
At home or in a hotel I can add semi-skimmed milk or yogurt or both.
   I gave up bananas because I am trying to lose weight.
   Prunes help cure constipation. I look for prunes without stones. (No stones saves time, protects teeth, less to throw away and go rotten in summer). I choose prunes in juice rather than sugary syrup. I like a can with a pull-off top. I haven't yet found a brand with all three.
    If you are really strict and cautious you will avoid prunes because the latest scare story is that any high level heating is likely to destroy nutrients and cause cancer. You would also cut out any tinned fruit in syrup or bottled fruit - so only fresh plums instead of prunes and fresh ginger not ginger in syrup.
      Another rule is simply to eat natural fresh food, nothing tinned, bottled, dried. Nor with added sugars and syrups. No added colours and who knows what - the ingredients labels will mystify or scare you! Not even yogurt, only milk, because yogurt is a way of preserving milk.
    I started making fruit salads for a member of my family who had late onset diabetes which is caused by a diet with too much sugar. Eventually your body says, 'no more, can't cope with sugar'.
    Then another member of my family was treated for cancer, now in remission and we followed the diet recommended by one of the cancer websites. Fruit for breakfast and as dessert for lunch and supper. I've found that you start to like what you are used to eating. That's why most Italians like pasta. Most Asians like rice. I like potatoes. But now I have got used to yogurt and prunes. My rule is eat everything three times. If you need it for health, eat it every day for a week. By then you will be tolerating it, and after three weeks you will be enjoying it and if you can't get it you miss it.

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