Early Watermelons: The Terrible Secret Of The Striped Berry
Early watermelons can contain a large amount of nitrates that are dangerous for health. These substances decompose in the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea, vomiting and profuse diarrhea. In addition, nitrates can lead to serious metabolic disorders and oxygen starvation.
Watermelons and melons are favorite summer treats that are enjoyed by both children and adults. What could be better than a ripe, cool watermelon on a hot day!
This large striped berry can be seen already in June. Some cannot resist the temptation and happily buy a watermelon. However, doctors strongly recommend waiting with this. What is the danger of early watermelons?
A source of vitamins and ... nitrates
Many people have heard about the benefits of watermelon. It really contains many vitamins, trace elements and other biologically active substances. Unfortunately, early watermelons are also high in nitrates.
Nitrates are salts of nitric acid that are added to mineral fertilizers. Plants actively use nitrates for growth. Early varieties of melon crops contain a fairly high concentration of nitrates (it can exceed the norm by ten times!), which poses a threat to human health.
What happens to nitrates in the body?
So, you still enjoyed an early watermelon, which may well be a real "nitrate bomb". Nitrates cannot be determined by taste, but the negative consequences can be felt. So, what happens to the body if it gets a high dose of nitrates?
Nitrates contained in watermelon enter the stomach and then the intestines. Under the influence of intestinal microflora, nitrates are decomposed, and nitrites are formed from them - dangerous compounds that have an irritating effect on the intestinal mucosa. Irritation can be so significant that a person experiences nausea, vomiting and profuse diarrhea.
But these are far from all the troubles that nitrites bring us. These substances are able to oxidize hemoglobin iron. In this state, hemoglobin does not carry oxygen, oxygen starvation develops.
Nitrites disrupt the process of normal absorption of vitamins and trace elements in the intestines, and also contribute to the accumulation of heavy metals in the kidneys and liver.
As you can understand, nitrate poisoning is a big deal. Therefore, try not to take early watermelons. Better wait until the end of July, beginning of August when the season starts.
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How To Know When An Avocado Is Ripe
An exotic fruit with an oily pulp and a lot of useful properties, it is a popular ingredient in many dishes, especially various salads and snacks.
Avocados can often be found in markets and supermarket shelves. However, often after acquiring this fruit, we are disappointed - the fruit turns out to be hard and tasteless.
Therefore, when choosing an avocado, it is important to know how to determine its maturity.
So here are some tips to help you choose a ripe avocado.
First of all, you should pay attention to the density of the fetus.
If its flesh does not squeeze through, then the avocado is not ripe. At the same time, when pressed, there should not be a feeling that the pulp inside has turned into a puree.
This indicates the overripeness of the fetus and its possible damage.
Ideally, a slight dent should form on the surface of the fruit when pressed, which will smooth out almost immediately. In this case, the fruit is ready to eat.
Another sign of avocado ripeness is the peeling of the pit from the pulp.
Shake the fruit and listen: if the fruit is ripe, a tapping sound will be heard. A dull sound, on the contrary, is characteristic of an unripe fruit.
When looking for a ripe avocado, also pay attention to the color of the area under the stalk.
Brown is a sign that the fruit is overripe, yellow is not ripe, and bright green indicates that the fruit has reached perfect maturity.
But if for some reason an unripe avocado was still purchased, do not despair. Just place it in a paper bag and let it ripen at room temperature. If necessary, you can speed up this process by adding one or more bananas to the avocado bag.
Ripe avocados can be used to make many wonderful dishes, such as a healthy vegetable salad and the popular Mexican snack guacamole.
Avocado salad
A delicious avocado salad recipe.
Ingredients:
tomatoes - 500 g cucumber - 1 pc. red onion - 1/2 pc. avocado - 2 pcs. olive oil - 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice - 2-3 tablespoons cilantro (or parsley) - a small bunch salt and ground black pepper - to taste
Prepare avocados, cucumbers and tomatoes, peel them, cut into cubes, onions into half rings. Chop fresh herbs. Transfer the vegetables to a deep bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper, add oil.
Mix all salad ingredients well and serve! If desired, you can let the dish brew for 10-15 minutes. It will taste even better.
Guacamole
And to prepare the guacamole appetizer sauce, you will need:
avocado - 1 pc. lemon - 1 pc. chili pepper - 1 pc. garlic - 2 cloves tomato - 1 pc. cilantro - 1 bunch salt - to taste
Remove the stone from the avocado, peel the pulp and chop it in a convenient way (with a fork) to a puree state, sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and remove the skin. Finely chop the prepared tomatoes, greens, peeled garlic and hot pepper pulp (without seeds).
Combine the ingredients until smooth (if desired, you can use a blender), add salt to taste. Bon appetit!
Sugar free avocado chocolate pudding
From avocados, you can easily prepare an unusual and healthy dessert - sugar-free chocolate pudding.
You will need:
avocado - 1 pc., banana - 1 pc., cocoa powder - 1-2 tbsp. l., dates - 3-6 pcs.
Using a blender, puree the pulp of the avocado and banana. Remove the pits from the dates, add them to the fruit puree along with cocoa powder, combine the ingredients in a blender.
The perfect dessert is ready! Serve it in bowls with fresh or dried orange slices. This is delicious!
When choosing an avocado, be sure to follow our recommendations, as well as cook delicious and healthy dishes from it. You won't be disappointed!
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The Cherry Is Ripe! Cooking Salad, Soup, Compote And Cherry Jam
Sweet and juicy cherries ripen by the end of May and please us until August. Cherry is rich in vitamins and microelements, it easily satisfies hunger, so it is ideal for dieters and those who want to lose weight. In addition to vitamins A, B1, B2, E, berries contain iodine, iron, fluorine, calcium, magnesium, etc.
Sweet cherries are delicious to eat without additives, they look wonderful on pastries, cakes, in dessert cream or yogurt. We recommend preparing salads with cherries, cooking compote and five-minute jam.
Salad with cherries and cheese
Salted feta, sweet cherries, fresh herbs and bitter nuts! The salad turns out incredibly tasty and healthy. Prepare for weekday dinner or serve for a festive lunch. By the way, a great option for dieters.
Step-by-step recipe for making a salad with cherries and cheese >>>
Salad with cherries and chicken
Chicken breast can be baked, boiled or fried in pieces. Perfect for yesterday's chicken. Cut the bell pepper, tomatoes, peel the cherries from the pits. We mix everything and pour a spicy dressing. Sweet, simple and original. Try!
See how to make a salad with cherries and chicken >>>
Cherry soup with ice cream
Dessert cherry soup you can cook in 10 minutes! Whip the cherries, sugar and lemon zest with a blender. Boil syrup with mint, lemon juice and cloves. Combine syrup and berry puree, heat and cool. Serve in bowls or bowls with a scoop of ice cream.
Recipe for Cherry Soup with Ice Cream >>>
Cherry compote
You can cook cherry compote in minutes. Add lemon juice or a tart berry to bring out the sweetness of the cherry. Pour the finished compote into a jug, add ice and serve. You can't imagine anything better in the summer heat! Here you will find a recipe for making cherry compote >>>
Seedless cherry jam "Five minutes"
From a kilogram of cherries and 500 g of sugar, you will cook 1.5 liters of jam! Peeled berries and sugar should be brought to a boil and boiled for 5 minutes three times, then poured into sterilized jars. At the last cooking, you can add the juice of half a lemon to the pan to add sourness to the jam. Such cherry jam can not only be eaten with a spoon, but also added to the filling of the pie, wrapped in pancakes and served with cheesecakes. Enjoy! Step-by-step recipe for making Pyatiminutka cherry jam >>>
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