Green light for some red foods
If you want to be in the pink of health, eat red.
The National Cancer Institute reports that deep-red or bright-pink fruit and vegetables contain phytochemicals that help your body fight disease and promote good health.
These phytochemicals include lycopene - which is found in watermelons, pink grapefruit and tomatoes - and anthocyanins found in strawberries, raspberries and beets.
Lycopenes help reduce the risk of several kinds of cancer while anthocyanins help control high blood pressure and protect against diabetes-related circulatory problems.
Women should eat at least seven fruit and vegetables a day and men should strive for nine, the institute says.
Soup for the teacher
With the school year winding down, here's a way to say thanks to teachers - a chicken noodle soup mix from Purely American Foods.
The mix comes with multicolored pasta shaped like schoolhouses, numbers and letters. It's packaged with a gift tag where the student can write a personalized thank-you. The price is $3. Available by calling 800-359-7873 or ordering online at http://purely@purelyamerican.com.
A few cool ideas for the refrigerator
Rubbermaid, the company that has been helping bring order to life for 80 years, has decided to tackle the most-used appliance in the home - the refrigerator.
New products include a condiment caddy, priced at $3.99, that fits into the refrigerator door to store ketchup, mustard and dressings, a Lazy Susan, priced at $7.99, that makes it easy to retrieve items from the back of the refrigerator, and rollout shelves, priced $5.99 and $6.99, to store soda cans.
To see these and other Rubbermaid products, visit www.rubbermaid.com.
Blueberries star In easy-to-fix treat
If you're looking for ideas on what to do with the fresh blueberries now in season, here's a recipe that's easy as pie from the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council:
Prebake a homemade or frozen 9-inch pie shell. Combine one 16-ounce jar blueberry jam or fruit spread and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a microwaveable dish and microwave on high about 1 minute, until mixture liquefies. Stir in 2 cups of fresh blueberries and spoon mixture into prepared shell. Chill and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Makes 6 portions.
Events
Enjoy Greek food, cooking demonstrations and dancing at the St. Nicholas Greek Folk Festival 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 520 S. Ponca St. For information, call 410-633-5020 or visit www.stnicholasmd.org.
Sample specialty foods from Italy at Roots Market, an independently owned natural-food market, 5805 Clarksville Square Drive, Clarksville, from noon to 4 p.m. June 15. For information, call 443-535-9321.
Rethink food and wine pairings in a dinner with Tim Hanni, president and founder of WineQuest, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Cloisters in Brooklandville. Sponsored by the American Institute of Wine and Food. $82 for members, $94 for non-members. For information, call 410-244-0044.