Dancing or eating, salsa is a lively part of summer. Life is easier and food is tastier. Zesty salsa can spice up your meals while improving your health.
Salsa’s not just for dipping, put it in salads, add it to sandwiches, mix it with rice, beans or veggies, and perk up meat. Step up your food and your body at the same time by adding more summery fruits and vegetables to your meals. How? Fruits and vegetables have a lot of antioxidants that keep your body "running" smoothly. Antioxidants act as the body's tiny cleaning crew.
Here’s how the body works: Our bodies are constantly working to generate energy. As the body works, it also produces free radicals. Like emissions from your car engine, free radicals are tiny waste products caused from creating energy. Needless to say, you want to get rid of them. If you don’t, your body will not work well and you will not feel your best. This can also increase your risk of serious illness. Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables can clean out those free radicals and can help improve the way you feel.
Start with a basic recipe:
4 large tomatoes
1 onion
cup cilantro
3 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon lime juice
½ jalapeño and a tomatillo
To make: Mix in a blender or chop up finely. Add other vegetables such as zucchini, fresh corn or a fruit like melon or peaches. The more you vary your fruits and vegetables, the more colorful and flavorful your meals will be and the more free radicals you clean out.
Go ahead and visit one of our harvest home markets and grab a variety of fruits and vegetables. Use different salsa mixtures to add healthy flavor to your meals.
Recipe: Salsa Ideas
Tomatillo Salsa Verde: Spicy, Mexican recipe from the Aztecs. Be careful, it’s hot
2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed and washed
6 jalapeños (fewer for less spicy heat)
4 garlic cloves
1 medium onion
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoon salt
To make: Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, and leave the jalapeños and tomatillos whole. Roast on a baking sheet in a 400-degrees F oven for about 15 minutes, turning all halfway over through roasting time.
Peel the garlic, deseed and rough chop the jalapeño; roughly chop the onion.
In a food processor, add all roasted ingredients, plus cilantro and salt and blend.
Jicama Salsa: Add a Zesty crunch to a salad by itself or add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar to make a salad dressing
Mix together
1 small jicama, chopped and diced (about a cup)
8 radishes diced
¾ cup of peeled and diced cucumber
2 tablespoons diced red onion
¾ teaspoon ground arbol chili
2 teaspoons fresh basil
2/3 teaspoon salt
Melon Salsa: Refreshing with chips or on fish or chicken or tossed into a salad
1 1/2 cups red onion, chopped
1 cup cantaloupe and 1 cup watermelon, chopped
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
TIPS & TRICKS
For different flavors and dishes, mix Salsa with
Brown Rice or Couscous, even cold macaroni
Green salads
Chicken or fish
Ground beef for tastier burgers or Tacos
Use as a dip for raw vegetables or fruit. Dip with peeled broccoli stems, celery, carrots, cucumber or zucchini slices or apples.
Add extra fruit or veggie to any salsa recipe: The more variety of ingredients, the more help you give your body. Mix things up for a tastier salsa. Add Avocado, mangos, peaches or black beans.
Don’t be confused: Antioxidants have different names (carotenoids, lycopene, flavonoids, to mention a few) because different antioxidants do different cleaning jobs. Make sure you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Know the antioxidants found in your fruits and vegetables:
Tomatoes have lycopene for bone health and fight heart disease
Melons have the extra water you need in the summer, plus antioxidant vitamin C. Great for your skin
Cucumbers have antioxidants that help your immune system and are good for skin and eyes
Blueberries are the super fruit of antioxidants. They cleanout and protect all your systems
Avocados aren't just delicious, they are powerful: 20 vitamins, minerals, antioxidants that protect your eyes and healthy omega-3 fatty acids for your blood pressure
Peppers give you more carotenoids and vitamin C. Great for your skin
Carrots have carotenoids that protect your eyes and skin. Great for dipping into salsa
Dark green leafy vegetables have Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that helps the immune system fight off disease. Wrap up some salsa in a big leaf