Apples and Wheat Germ – Super Foods!
In our busy lives sometimes we don’t often think about some of life’s most important things namely our own good health. When we get sick, many times we just tough it out and not even take off long enough to go to the doctor. The best thing however, is to take preventative measures to ward off evil sickness and down time.
A couple super foods that come to mind that helped me stay away from the doctor’s office have been wheat germ and apples. Of course everyone uses apples but not so many people have heard of wheat germ. It’s a sodium and cholesterol free food found in the cereal section of your local food store. It’s an excellent source of vitamin E and folic acid.
Wheat germ can be sprinkled on your cereal, oat meal and apples or any other fruit as well. Mix it in your next meat loaf will bring the whole family asking for more! The secret is to replace bread crumbs with wheat germ. I’ll even give you a recipe for it at the end of this article. Wheat germ is excellent to help your complexion, nails and hair growth and it helps to prevent constipation.
Apples are rich in vitamins such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and provides important minerals as well. They help to cleanse your teeth, mouth and supply pectin, an aid to good digestion. They’ve proved to improve bone density, lower cholesterol and help with weight loss.
Apples are good to help prevent Alzheimer’s, lung cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer and to help manage diabetes. The apple juice has been proven to help asthma in children.
OK here’s that special quick and easy nutritional booster recipe for replacing bread crumbs wheat germ in your favorite meat loaf.
Mini Meat Loaves with Honey-Mustard Sauce
Ingredients: 1 ½ pounds lean ground lean beef or turkey
¾ cup Kretschmer original wheat germ
½ cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 egg white, slightly beaten
¼ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons pure honey
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. For meat loaves, combine first seven ingredients in large bowl; mix lightly, but thoroughly. Sharpe meat mixture into eight 3 x 2-inch loaves; place in baking dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes to medium done (160degrees F) or until center is no longer pink and juices show no pink color. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. For sauce, combine mustard and honey; mix well. Or, for added convenience, use ready prepared honey-mustard sauce. Serve sauce over meat loaves.
Nutrition Information: 1/8 of recipe
Calories 240, Calories from fat 110, Total fat 13g, Saturated Fat 4.5g, Cholesterol 50mg, Sodium 220mg, Carbohydrate 14g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Protein 19g, Folic Acid 70meg (15% of DV) Vitamin E 4.5 I.U. (15% of DV).
Cook’s Tips:
* Substitute barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce or ketchup for mustard and honey
* Serve with noodles, couscous or quick-cooking rice.