Go Red For Women

Every year on the first Friday of February women all over the world celebrate National Wear Red Day, sponsored by the American Heart Assocation in hopes to educate women on the number one killer of women, heart disease.

In honor of National Wear Red Day, I thought it would be fun to post some ideas on how to get more red foods (specifically fruits and vegetables) into your diet. Why Red foods? Red foods contain a phytochemical called Lycopene. Phytochemicals are substance in foods that have been shown and are believed to have postive health effects on our bodies. Lycopene is one of these phytochemical's that have been shown to have an effect on preventing heart disease and certain types of cancer.

So on National Wear Red Day make every part of your celebration "Red" by enjoying these red foods and drinks too!

• Red Berry Squares: make strawberry flavored gelatin mixed with fresh strawberries and raspberries. Cut into squares before serving.


• Frozen Watermelon bits: Alternate frozen cubes of watermelon and mint leaves on a skewer and serve cold.


• Ravin' Red Smoothie: Blend 1 cup low-fat yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries and 1 frozen banana.


• Red Pasta: Cook whole-wheat spaghettie and top with low sodium marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes


• Bake Red Apple Dessert: Fill 1 whole red apple (cored) with 1/4 cup chopped almonds, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1 tsp honey, and 1 tsp brown sugar. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F or until sugar bubbles.


• Perfect Polenta: Cook polenta and mix with cherry tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper and sun-dried tomatoes.


• Red Bean Salsa: Combine 2 cups red beans, 1/2 cup diced red onions, 1 cup diced red toamto, 1/4 cup diced jalapeno (remove seeds), 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 cup corn, 2 tbsp lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy your Friday and don't forget to wear RED. (Thanks to the American Heart Association and Go Red for Women campaign for the above Red ideas.