An A to Z of Healthy Eating - M
There's a multitude of foods beginning with 'M'. There's mackerel and mussels, there's millet, maize and malt, mandarin, melon and mango, and there are mung beans, mange-tout and mint. We don't have enough space to discuss all of these in detail, so today I'm going to focus on mussels, melon, mange-tout, mung beans and mint. Finally, you'll find a recipe below that contains all five of these nutrient-packed ingredients.
Mussels are an excellent source of protein and a variety of vitamins and minerals including vitamin B12 (essential for the formation of red blood cells and nerve cells), iron (for 'carrying' oxygen around the body) and selenium (a mineral believed to be involved in maintaining a healthy heart and preventing cancer).
Melons, having a high water content and containing a number of useful minerals, are an excellent cleanser of the body. In particular they provide calcium and potassium (both needed by muscles and nerves) as well as vitamin C (an important antioxidant that strengthens the immune system).
'Mange-tout' literally means 'eat all' because that's exactly what you can do with them - especially when you've steamed or blanched them. Otherwise known as 'sugar snap peas' these vegetables are a very good source of dietary fibre and a number of vitamins including A, C and K.
Mung beans, and sprouted mung beans in particular, are highly nutritious and make an excellent addition to any salad. After sprouting them in water for a couple of days their nutrient content increases significantly providing even more calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc (the list goes on!) than unsprouted mung beans.
Mint is a wonderful herb that adds freshness to a whole variety of different dishes especially salads (fruit or veg varieties) and dips. It's also good source of vitamin C, calcium and iron.
So here's my recipe for Mussels and Melon Salad...
(Serves 4)
250g mussels (steamed)
1 ripe cantaloupe melon (peeled & sliced in to wedges, save any juice)
1 dessert spoon balsamic vinegar
1.5cm piece of fresh root ginger (very finely grated)
160g mangetout (steamed)
20g sprouted mung beans
fresh mint leaves (to garnish)
Arrange the melon wedges on to four plates and scatter the mussels, mange tout and mung beans on top. Combine any juices from the melon with the balsamic vinegar, ginger and mix well. (If your melon doesn't yield much juice, add 1 tbsp of orange or apple juice to the vinegar and ginger mix.) Drizzle the dressing over the melon and mussels and garnish with the mint leaves.
There's a multitude of foods beginning with 'M'. There's mackerel and mussels, there's millet, maize and malt, mandarin, melon and mango, and there are mung beans, mange-tout and mint. We don't have enough space to discuss all of these in detail, so today I'm going to focus on mussels, melon, mange-tout, mung beans and mint. Finally, you'll find a recipe below that contains all five of these nutrient-packed ingredients.Read also:
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An A to Z of Healthy Eating - G
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