NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

March 4, 1999

Prairie Fare: Enjoying Our (Grapefruit) Salad Days

I've found myself eating more salads of all kinds the past few years. I imagine this growing habit stems from my desire to maintain a high-fiber diet. Despite recent medical reports saying fiber may not being as beneficial as researchers previously thought, I remain disinclined to forego eating fruits and vegetables. The health-benefits scale, in my opinion, still tips heavily in favor of these fleshy, multishaped members of the plant kingdom.

For those willing to partake, fresh fruits and vegetables lay out a sensory banquet, complete with every hue of the rainbow, tastes from subtle to spirited and textures from delicate to dense. From avocados to zucchini, fresh fruits and vegetables can spark creativity in even the most by-the-cookbook cooks.

Do I sound like a produce salesman? Before you answer that question, consider this: Trying adding some chopped dates and diced green pepper to your favorite ham salad recipe; serve this creation inside halves of pita bread. Like three-bean salad? First, make it a two-bean salad (pinto and navy or great northern), and then see what happens when you substitute lime juice for the vinegar in the dressing and add some diced avocados, sliced black olives and cubes of Colby cheese. Season it with salt, freshly ground black pepper and some ground cumin.

One more: How about buying a couple of fresh pineapples? Split each pineapple in half lengthwise (keep the leaves attached) and carefully remove the fruit and the core so you can place cubes of core-free pineapple back into the shells. But first, mix the cubed pineapple with some dried banana chips, a little vanilla extract and a dash or two of ground cinnamon. Warm this mixture in a saucepan and then place it into the pineapple shells. Top the mixture with shredded coconut and broil the shells in the oven only long enough to toast the coconut. Place a dollop or two of orange sherbet somewhere in the shell and serve immediately.

By this point, I suppose you're wondering what happened to the grapefruit in the headline. Well, you'll find two grapefruits in the following recipe, which comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Grapefruit Spinach Salad Oriental
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
10 ounces (about 4½ cups) fresh spinach, washed and drained
1 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 5-ounce can water chestnuts, diced
2 grapefruits, sectioned and diced
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon—each bottled hot pepper sauce, salt and dry mustard

Procedure:
Tear spinach coarsely and place in large salad bowl. Add mushrooms, water chestnuts and grapefruit. Mix together oil, vinegar, grapefruit juice, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt and dry mustard. Toss dressing with spinach mixture and serve.

What's Your Take on This, Julie?

Don't shy away from grapefruit, even if these juicy fruits tend to act like squirt guns at the breakfast table. Most people have received a shot of grapefruit juice in the eye at some point (and survived).

This recipe is a great way to refresh your eating habits, just in time for March, which is National Nutrition Month. Most people eat the same basic foods week in, week out. As a goal, try a new recipe or a different food every week during March. Grapefruit are in season, so they're a good place to start. Plus, you'll be on your way to the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

Grapefruit, which are named because they grow in clusters like grapes, are an excellent source of vitamin C, which helps produce collagen, the fibrous protein that helps hold muscles, bones and other tissues together. Vitamin C also helps repair red blood cells, protects you from bruising by keeping blood vessels and capillary walls strong, and helps keep your gums healthy and your immune system working. Vitamin C also helps your body absorb iron better, particularly from plant sources.

This iron-vitamin C relationship comes into play with Grapefruit Spinach Salad Oriental. One serving (one-sixth of the recipe) contains 150 calories and 9 grams of fat. A serving also contains about 70 percent of the recommended daily vitamin C, mainly from the grapefruit, 65 percent of recommended vitamin A from the carotenes in spinach, and 10 percent of the recommended daily iron, mainly from spinach. Try using canola or olive oil to increase the percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to be healthier for your heart.

Grapefruit juice is being studied by scientists because it contains a substance that may affect the absorption of certain drugs, particularly certain sedatives, some blood-pressure medications, antihistamines and others. While most medications won't be affected by grapefruit juice, it's probably a good idea to visit with your physician or pharmacist if you typically take your medications with grapefruit juice.

Be adventuresome this month with new flavor combinations. Take a little time to section some grapefruit, which removes the somewhat bitter "albedo" membrane, and make an attractive salad with a refreshing difference.

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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136 and Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187

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