From the category archives:

Fruit Recipes

Fluffy Blueberry Pie Recipe for the Win

by Joi on March 15, 2010

The recipe below is for Fluffy Blueberry Pie and couldn’t be easier to make – this I promise. I also promise that it is so delicious, you’ll fight for the last bite. You can substitute peeled, sliced peaches for the blueberries and the pie will be just as remarkable. Either fruit would make an ideal Easter Pie recipe or a simple dessert for warm summer nights.

Fluffy Blueberry Pie Recipe

20 large marshmallows
1/4 cup whole milk
4 cups fresh blueberries (divided)
1 (8 oz) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked

In a heavy saucepan, combine marshmallows and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, stirring several times.

Stir in 3-1/2 cups of the blueberries (or peaches, if you go that route). Take out and set aside 1/2 cup of the whipped topping. Fold remaining topping into blueberry mixture.

Pour into crust. refrigerate for at lease 2 hours. Top off with the remaining blueberries and reserved whipped topping.

Once your familiar with the recipe, you’ll want to try out different fruit. I would imagine that raspberries would be amazing and blackberries would probably have your family throwing themselves at your feet. Note to self: Put blackberries on the grocery list….

Yield: One 9″ Pie or about 8 servings.

How to Make a Banana Smoothie

by Joi on February 11, 2010

I bought a new blender yesterday with one thing in mind – Smoothies! I’ve tried out a few and I’m completely hooked. So far, my favorites are Blueberry Smoothies, Strawberry Smoothies, and Banana Smoothies.

A banana smoothie is a healthy, quick cold treat that you can make any time of year, not just in summer. There are a variety of ways to make a banana smoothie, but in this article we’ll stick with the basics.

Here are the tools and utensils you’ll need to make your banana smoothie:

A blender
Knife to cut up your banana
Serving glasses
Measuring cups

And here are the ingredients that we’ll be using to make our banana smoothie:

1 ripe banana
1 cup of crushed ice
1 cup of cold milk
1 tbsp of brown sugar

Here’s how to make the perfect banana smoothie every time

Some people like to freeze their banana first before adding it to the blender, but I find it turns out great using a regular room temperature banana.

Peel your banana and break it or cut it up into pieces and add it to your blender. Then pour in the ice, milk and add the brown sugar.

Turn on your blender and hold the top of the lid firmly in place. This is important because with something hard like ice inside, there’s a possibility that the lid could get knocked off and then you’d end up with a mess. If you don’t have crushed ice, use ice cubes instead, but pulse the blender a few times to break the ice cubes into smaller pieces.

Blending time should take about 30-60 seconds, but make sure your banana smoothie has a smooth creamy texture before serving.

When the mixture is finished blending, pour it out into a glass and if you decide to use a straw to drink from, use bigger straws to make it easier.

Video: How to make a banana smoothie

(I have no idea who this is in the video below – I just thought it might be helpful for my readers!)

I’ve become a Smoothie addict, so you’ll be seeing plenty of smoothie recipes, tips, and what not. I’m working on iced coffee drinks as well…. I’ll bet you already assumed that. So transparent.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies With Golden Raisins

by Joi on February 3, 2010

I’m fixing to make a batch of one of my husband’s favorite cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The boy could eat about 12 at one setting. Sigh, I love him so.

We’re simply big on cookies in our house, whether it’s Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Birthdays, March Madness, the Superbowl, a night our beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing baseball, Survivor Thursday, or a nothing really going on but lets celebrate it with cookies Wednesday night like tonight – you can almost always find a plate of cookies in our kitchen.

These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies never disappoint.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES RECIPE

3/4 cup butter (not margarine, please)
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup black raisins
1 cup crushed walnuts

Mix butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and the dry ingredients. Add oatmeal, nuts, and chips. Drop by teaspoon on a greased, shiny cookie sheet. If your cookie sheet isn’t the shiny pan it once was, cover it with Reynold’s 100 % Recycled Aluminum Foil. The shininess helps the cookies to cook more evenly.

Bake at 400 degrees.

My mouth is watering….

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Even with a great recipe (Which I believe the one above to be) and an outstanding cook (I know you are!), your cookies will only be as good as the cookie sheets you cook them on. The professional cookie pans you see below are incapable of producing a bad batch of cookies. For bakery-quality cookies each time, these are the cookie pans you need.

Chicago Metallic Set of 2 Professional Nonstick Cookie and Jelly Roll Pans

Tom’s Cheery Cherry Cherry Berry Pie Recipe for the Win

by Joi on January 23, 2010

Below is the outstanding recipe for Professional entrant Linda Hundt’s APC/Crisco National Pie Championship 2009 Best of Show pie, Tom’s Cherry Cherry Cherry Berry Pie. The annual event will be held this year April 23-25, 2010.

Tom’s Cheery Cherry Cherry Berry Pie Recipe

by Linda Hundt

Crust:
One and one-half cups of flour
One-quarter tsp baking powder
One-half tsp salt
One tsp sugar
One-half cup Crisco shortening

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea like.” Carefully sprinkle ice cold water in crust mix until it just starts to be fully moistened and gathers together. Pat into disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour. Roll out on floured surface and make and crimp pie crust. Freeze until ready to use.

Filling:
Four and one-half cups Montmorency tart cherries –frozen
One cup sugar
One-quarter cup cornstarch
One-half tsp real almond extract
One tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
One-half tsp orange zest
One-half cup dried Michigan cherries
One and one-half cups of frozen blueberries

Combine frozen cherries, dried cherries, sugar, cornstarch. Stir constantly on med-hi heat until boiling. Add blueberries. Boil for one minute or until thickened. Add almond extract, lemon juice and zest. Pour blueberries in bottom of pie shell and pour cherry mixture over them.

Crumb Topping:
One cup sugar
One cup all purpose flour
One-quarter tsp salt
One stick butter softened

Mix together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until crumbly.

Cover filling with crumb topping. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until filling is bubbling over crust.

Credit: The American Pie Council. Follow The American Pie Council on Twitter and Facebook for all things Pie!

Outstandingly Delicious and Healthy Snacks for Game Day

by Joi on January 15, 2010

One of our biggest pitfalls as a family trying to eat healthy foods is snack time. I make healthy meals and, even when we eat out, we make healthy choices. But when we’re watching football games, basketball games, baseball, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, or anything else on TV – we love our snacks.

Also – aside from my youngest daughter and our cats – the members of my family come and go all day and night. It can be exhausting for us homebodies watching them come and go. I’ve noticed that they all love to snack along their journeys… fuel for the road, I suppose. I try to keep healthier options in the kitchen and dining room for them to grab. Sure, we’ll have various forms of chocolate at any given time – I won’t even try to deny that. Besides, you’d smell the chocolate on my breath and call me out.

I always remind people that chocolate…

Is actually good for you – nutritionists sing the praises of dark chocolate almost as much as I do
Chocolate makes the world go round
Chocolate is sexy

So, you can count on this kitchen always, always, always boasting plenty of chocolate goodness just as surely as there will always be a coffee pot ready to play . The coffee will warm your body as the chocolate warms your mood. But potato chips, soft drinks, and fried, greasy crap has been exiled from our home.

Nuts are also remarkably good for you, so I keep several candy dishes filled with different kinds of nuts and nut blends. The largest candy dish is currently holding chocolate covered raisins and chocolate covered nuts. Another has almonds, which are a huge hit in my family.

Recently, I happened upon a combination that blew me completely away: Mariani Vanilla Yogurt Raisins and walnut pieces. I keep these yogurt covered raisins on hand because I’m totally addicted to them. They are ridiculously delicious. They had commandeered a large candy dish and I couldn’t find a spot for a bag of walnut pieces I’d just brought home from the store. So, I tossed the walnuts in with the yogurt covered raisins. When I passed by, I’d either pick out the raisins or the walnuts until I saw my husband grab a mixture and put them in his mouth. In an unsettling display of monkey-see/monkey-do, I jumped over and tried it for myself.

Holy deliciousness, Batman!!!

The combination reminds me of one of my favorite cookies, Iced Oatmeal Cookies. For whatever reasons, the vanilla-flavored yogurt, the raisins, and the walnuts make a powerhouse combination that convinces your mind that you’re eating the best Iced Oatmeal Cookie ever made. With less calories.

Try different combinations of nuts and dried fruit with your snackers… but, whatever you do, try the Vanilla-Flavored Yogurt-Covered Raisins paired with Walnuts first. It’ll blow you smack away. These yogurt-covered raisins are also outstanding when eaten with fruit such as pineapple wedges, grapes, strawberries, raspberries (!!!), blueberries, blackberries, and so on.

Below is a great recipe for Trail Mix Bars from Mariani – makers, not only of the yogurt covered raisins I eat like a cat with salmon, but also makers of many outstanding dried fruits and other snacks. Look for them on the shelves at your grocery store. In my favorite store, they’re located in the health food section.

Mariani Trail Mix Bars Recipe

2 cups margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
6 cups mixture of Mariani Premium Banana Chips – crushed, raisins, mixed nuts, and chopped, Mariani Premium Mixed Fruit.
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3 cups granola

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda, and add to butter and egg mixture. Stir in trail mix, oats, and granola. When mixed, drop spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

For more healthy recipes from Mariani, see their website.

Did you know that walnuts are very good for your brain? Click the link to learn how!

Holiday Baking Begins with Carnation Evaporated Milk

by Joi on October 31, 2009

Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Recipes

Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the doorstep – two of the most welcomed guests of the year. If I loved this time of year any more, I’d probably explode. From September to January, everywhere you look in our home (and yard), you see pumpkins, happy ghosts (I collect the smiling ones, not the grumps), scarecrows, bats, Pilgrims, Native Americans, turkeys, cranberries, snowmen, santas, angels, Christmas mice, Christmas trees, and or general hoopla.

The room, of course, with the most excitement, is the kitchen – It’s a non-stop party!

An ingredient that I can’t imagine anytime without, let alone the holidays, is Carnation evaporated milk. Not only does it add richness to every recipe it graces, it has a sentimental bond with me as well.

When my husband and I first started dating, I met his adorable mom (Frances) and stepfather (J.L.). They’ve moved on to Heaven now – I guess Heaven needed some extra cuteness. They were an older couple and he looked an awful lot like Abe Vigoda (“Fish” remember him?). When we first started going to their house, J.L. often had coffee made up (loved that about him). I normally put cool whip or whipping cream in my coffee – after all, I was 18-19 and probably didn’t even know what calories were. J.L. always put Carnation evaporated milk in his coffee. The first time he made me a cup, he asked if I wanted “creamer.” I said, “You bet!” To my horror, he reached in the fridge and pulled out a can of Carnation evaporated milk. My mind said, “Whoa, he’s lost it. That’s what my mom puts in Pumpkin pie!”

Never one to hurt someone’s feelings OR turn down a cup of coffee, I graciously accepted the alien cup of coffee. And not only drank every drop – went back for more WITH the evaporated milk.

I still, to this day, love Carnation Evaporated milk in my coffee. It reminds me of afternoons around the table with loved ones – and it tastes fantastic.

I also love evaporated milk in my recipes. Did you know that you can replace whole milk with evaporated milk in just about any recipe. I’ve never run into one that it didn’t work beautifully and richly.

Below is a fantastic recipe from Carnation Evaporated Milk. You have to try it as soon as possible… how about now?!

Carnation Evaporated Milk Recipe - Pear Oven Pancake

PEAR OVEN PANCAKE

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
3 large eggs
1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 450º F.

POUR melted butter into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or cake pan. Swirl to coat bottom and sides of plate.

COMBINE flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in medium bowl. Whisk evaporated milk and eggs in another medium bowl until blended. Add to flour mixture; whisk for 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pie plate. Arrange pear slices on top of batter in pinwheel design, pushing down slightly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle top with sugar mixture.

BAKE for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

TIP: For a harvest twist on this fabulous recipe, substitute sautéed apples for pears. YUM!

This recipe is from Carnation Evaporated Milk’s Holiday Recipe Guide, Full of Flavor. Click the link for your FREE copy. I love mine and have plans to make each recipe over the next 2 months.

Visit The Cooking Milk.com for more recipes as well as an awesome Virtual Kitchen with a friendly and lovely guide filled with great ideas and information.

TIP: Use Carnation Evaporated Milk the next time you make Hot Chocolate. I’d be willing to bet it’s a “secret” ingredient at a lot of coffee houses. It makes it richer and creamier somehow. Don’t forget the marshmallows!

Organic Yogurts That You and Your Family Will Eat Like Ice Cream

by Joi on September 25, 2009

Stonyfield Farm Yogurt

I’ve been trying to feed my family healthier foods for a couple of years now. When they’re on Fast Food Alley without me, I know full-well that they give in to temptation in the form of burgers, fries, and shakes – so there’s only so much I can do. BUT, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that when they’re at home, they’re surrounded by good food alternatives. Sure, I frequently make desserts and there’ll be occasional snacks that aren’t 100 percent perfect… but this is still a home, not a Health Food Retreat!

Fortunately, food manufacturers have really stepped up their game. There are SO many healthy foods and snacks that are good for you. I love the snacks that are so tasty, my family forgets all about the labels and doesn’t realize what they’re eating is actually nutritious.

The organic yogurts in this post fit that description perfectly. Pictured above are Stonyfield Farm Yogurts. They’re OIKOS Blueberry Organic Yogurt available in Fat Free, Low Fat, and Whole Milk. When I tried the different varieties, I fully expected to only like the Whole Milk – I was surprised when I found that I liked Fat Free and Low Fat just as well. In fact, if I HAD to pick a favorite, it’d be the Low Fat. It’s creamy and delicious, with or without fruit added.

Another favorite is Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt. Heavenly! I love the flavor of Oikos and Stonyfield Organic Yogurts so much that I’d eat them even if they weren’t nutritious. The fact that they’re good for my health as well as my planet? Creamy icing on the cake. They come in the following flavors and EACH is delicious: Blueberry, Strawberry, Honey, Plain, and Vanilla. Personally? The plain is better with granola and fruit, but the others are amazing right out of the convenient containers.

From the website:

Called “yiaourti” in Greece, Greek yogurt is creamier than regular yogurt. Authentic Greek yogurt like ours owes its extra creaminess to a centuries-old straining process that removes the whey (liquid) from the yogurt.

For hundreds of years, Greeks have prized strained yogurt for its richness and creaminess, and because it makes a wonderful cooking ingredient that’s less likely to curdle when heated. Before the time of mechanical refrigeration, Greeks also knew that yogurt stayed fresh longer with the liquid strained off. Today we know that straining makes Greek yogurt richer in protein than regular yogurt, and lower in lactose.

Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt has 0% fat, just 90 calories per 5.3 oz.-serving*, twice the protein of regular yogurt, and fewer carbohydrates. Because it’s organic, our yogurt is also better for the earth. And we think it’s better for you, too.

To read more about these healthy and delicious organic yogurts yourself, visit the links below. Try these organic yogurts on your next trip to the store – you won’t be sorry!

Oikos Organic Yogurt (You can EVEN get coupons! – Oh, I love them so…)

Stonyfield Organic Yogurts

Have a Cow! (enjoyable and educational for children of all ages)

Delicious Recipes Featuring Honey and Apples

by Joi on September 23, 2009

Delicious honey in spoons.... yum!

Below are some fantastic recipes from the National Honey Board that call for two of my all-time favorite flavors in the world: Honey and Apples. Yum! One of the reasons I think I love apples so much is they taste like Autumn to me. Since it’s my favorite time of the year, I’m good with that. As for honey, I know why I’m so in love with it – it’s a little thing we call a sweet tooth and my head is full of them. When these two flavors team up, Joi is one happy, happy Kentuckian.

Apple Gem Jelly Recipe
Makes 24 servings

1 cup apple juice
1 1/2 cups honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 red apples, grated with peel on
3 ounces liquid pectin

In a 5-quart saucepan, combine apple juice, honey, lemon juice and grated apples. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in liquid pectin. Skim off foam. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Seal according to manufacturers instructions. Makes three 1/2-pint jars.

Recipe for Candied Honey Apples
Makes 6 servings

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 small apples
6 wooden sticks
1/3 cup nuts, chopped

Combine all ingredients except apples, sticks and nuts in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat to 265°F; stir constantly. Remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes. Insert stick into top of apple. Holding apple by stick, roll in hot honey mixture to coat; roll bottom of apple in nuts if desired. Place on waxed paper squares to cool. Repeat with remaining apples. Makes 6 apples.

Honey Yogurt Dumplings with Apples Recipe
Makes 8 servings

Dumpling Batter:
1 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
6 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon orange peel, grated

Apple Mixture:
4 cups apple slices
2 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Mix together egg, yogurt, 1 tablespoon honey, milk and orange peel in separate large bowl; stir into flour mixture to form moist batter.

Combine apples, juice, remaining 1/2 cup honey, cinnamon stick and nutmeg in heavy large skillet; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low.

Drop tablespoonfuls of batter over hot apple mixture. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through and wooden pick inserted near dumpling center comes out clean.

Harvest Honey Spice Cake Recipe
Makes 12 servings

1 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup strong brewed coffee
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups tart apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Powdered sugar
Additional toasted sliced almonds, for garnish

Using electric mixer beat together honey, oil and coffee. Beat in eggs. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to honey-egg mixture, mixing until well blended. Stir in apples, almonds and cranberries. Pour into lightly greased and floured Bundt or tube pan. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool on wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar; garnish with sliced almonds, if desired.

***** This is a little off-topic, but if you or anyone you love happens to get whatever it is going around (the coughing, sore throat, chest congestion, sneezing nightmare) – put honey in tea and drinketh a lot! The honey soothes the throat like nothing else can or will and the natural sweetness makes you feel as though you just may live. If your throat is sore and inflamed, drink your honey-sweetened tea cold – it’ll put out the fire and make the inflamation go down. If your throat isn’t sore, but you have a lot of chest congestion, drink your honey-tea warm.. it’ll open you up and you’ll re-discover a little something we call breathing.

Granny Smith Apples

Delicious Apple Crisp Recipe for a Taste of Early Autumn

by Joi on August 27, 2009

APPLE CRISP RECIPE – A DESSERT WITH AUTUMN ON IT’S MIND!

6 fresh apples – peeled, sliced, and sprinkled with 1 tsp. lemon juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (can actually be left out entirely)
1/3 cup soft butter or margarine

Put the apple slices in the bottom of a baking dish. Combine all of the other ingredients, then sprinkle evenly over the apples. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

We have a lot of apple trees in our yard, so I always try to come up with as many ways to use them up as possible. This past week, alone, we’ve had apple pies, fried apples, and this amazing apple crisp.

I’ve made this crisp with and without the nutmeg. When I leave it out, I simply add a smidgen more cinnamon. It’s fantastic either way. I doubled the recipe last night because I was using a huge dish. I also took it out of the oven a little early. Everyone in my family gets home at different times, so I wanted it to be ready to warm up – without the delicious crumb topping getting too hard. Personally, I like the topping to be a little soft anyway.

Just cook it till it looks (and tastes) just the way you want it. This is a recipe I swear by. I even had a little this morning for breakfast, with a slice of toast. Delicious – even cold!

Something I have noticed is that preparing apples is MUCH easier when you have an apple slicer like the Apple Slicer by Leifheit, above. When you have to use a knife and separate apple corer, the process takes so long that the apples lose their gumption and begin turning ugly (even with the lemon juice). But when you use an apple slicer, the process is much quicker, neater, and takes a lot less time.

Something else I love about apple slicers: Kids adore them! It’s a perfect way to get them to eat more apples (especially with a little caramel sauce for dipping).

Kiwi Recipes from ZESPRI

by Joi on August 12, 2009

Kiwi Fruit I have fallen so in love with Kiwi that strawberries are jealous. Kiwi are as delicious as any fruit and very versatile. From a health and fitness standpoint, 2 kiwis have more fiber than 1 cup of blueberries or 1 cup of strawberries. That surprised me a little.

A lot of people get kind of intimidated by a kiwi’s appearance. They aren’t sure how to even go about eating one. It’s really frightfully simple – just cut it in half and scoop it out with a spoon. Or, peel and slice for fruit salads or yogurt parfaits. I also love slices of kiwi on a bagle (or English Muffin) with cream cheese. Invite a cup of coffee to the party and you’re in for a little slice of Heaven.

For a ton of delicious and (very) creative kiwi recipes, visit ZESPRI.com. The one below is from their collection and has my mouth watering even as I type these words.

Salsa ZESPRI

SALSA ZESPRI

1 each whole green and whole yellow peppers (capsicum), grilled (broiled) or baked, peeled
1 small whole chilli
2 whole cloves garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 ZESPRI® GOLD Kiwifruit
¼ of a cucumber

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop and combine all ingredients
2. Serve with crackers as a snack or with grilled salmon

YUM!

Kiwifruit as a Source of Antioxidants: (From ZESPRI.com):

Scientific studies have found that eating ZESPRI® GREEN and GOLD Kiwifruit actually increase blood levels of antioxidants.

There are various positive benefits to this:

Firstly, it means that more antioxidants are present in the blood to help prevent oxidation of blood lipids (a finding of one key study)¹. This is important because high levels of oxidised blood lipids is associated with greater risk of developing heart disease

Secondly, after we eat a meal the process of digestion results in the formation of potentially damaging free radicals. A second study² has shown that consuming antioxidant-rich fruits such as kiwifruit with a meal can increase blood levels of antioxidants to help deactivate the free radicals formed in the post-meal digestive processes

In addition, certain carotenoid antioxidants have been shown to be more readily absorbed from fruits (including kiwifruit) than dark green vegetables, indicating they are the best sources of carotenoid antioxidants available