How often Should we Consume Blueberries? - Part 2 – Food 35

You may read the previous post about blueberries and berries:

- The Rainbow : Blueberry is One of Fruits Rich in Antioxidants– Food 13
- How often Should we Consume Blueberries? - Part 1 – Food 35

Image 1- Blueberries, ready to be consumed

It is because they are healthiest berries. I have mentioned 3 kinds (excluded blackberry) of berries. Then, other 5 kinds of berries are:

- Goji berries
- Bilberries
- Acai berries
- Cranberries
- Grapes

Image 2- Magnolia, Illustration only

In case of blueberry, there are a lot of health benefits, just some (Megan Ware, written in MedicalNewsToday, 2017):

- Lowering blood pressure
- Managing diabetes
- Protecting against heart disease
- Preventing cancer
- Healthy digestion, weight loss, and feeling full

Image 3- Butterfly, just for illustration

The question then: How often Should we Consume Blueberries?

As recommended by Harvard Health Publishing (June 17, 2020): “Eat blueberries three times per week.”

Image 4- Blueberries sold in Walmart, US$6.97

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Sugarcane Sticks Sold in the Mexican Grocery – Food 36

I used to chew sugarcane sticks, off course after removing its outer layers, when I was a kid long time ago.

Image 1- Sugarcane sticks sold in the grocery.

Fun memory to select a good tree, cut tree with proper sizes, peel off the outer layers, and chewing its. Tastes so sweet.

I loved to drink sugarcane juice as well. As suggested by Raw Pressery (2021: 13 Amazing Health Benefits of Sugarcane Juice) that sugarcane juice has plenty of health benefits.

Just for few examples, sugarcane juice contains highly minerals, high source of vitamin C, low fats and low Glycemic index.

Image 2- Pine fruits, illustration only

By the way, when we visited an ethnic, Mexican grocery recently, we found sticks of sugarcane on the shelves.

Image 3- Sugarcane juice, sold in Walmart

Yes, USA has sugarcane farmings which produce millions ton of sugars, but first time saw sugarcane sticks on the market.

Have you chewed sugarcane sticks?

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White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 3 – Food 32

You may read previous posting (Part 1):

- White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 1 – Food 32
- White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 2 – Food 32

Image 1- Sweet white hominy pearls tossed with coconut shreds

Hominy is a product of corn, so it is free from gluten, high fiber, low fat and low carb.

Just for your illustration that one cup (165 g) of hominy contents about 120 calories, and 4 g(16% daily value) of fibers.

For today consumption, I use hominy from Juanita's. I empty hominy into the pot, rinse, and cover with water. 

Image 2- A nutcracker, illustration only

Image 3- The raw corn, illustration

Put the pot on medium high and bring to boil, then add some sugar, stir a few times. When the texture is softer, we should drain, and toss with coconut shreds. Ready to enjoy!

Do you like hominy? What is your favorite hominy recipe?

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- Free Coffee at Toyota Car Repair Shop
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How often Should we Consume Blueberries? - Part 1 – Food 35

We have talked about how important to eat blueberries:

- The Rainbow : Blueberry is One of Fruits Rich in Antioxidants – Food 13

Image 1- Blueberries in the bowl, ready to be consumed

Actually, there are a lot of berries species in the world. By internet searching, we found no less than 400 different kinds of berries either farming or wild ones.

In term of colors, the berries could be:

- black
- purple
- white
- yellow
- red

Image 2- Just another berry, wild berries at yard

Blueberry is one of my favorite fruits in the berries “group.” I don’t know why I love this type of berry.

Image 3- A cookbook, Illustration only.

Sure, I consume others. Some my favorite berries include:

- strawberry
- blackberry
- raspberry

Image 4- Cranberry, another suggested berries to eat

Ruairi Robertson (published in healthline, August 19, 2020) suggest to consume at least 8 kinds of berries.

We may wonder: Why should we eat many kinds of berries?

# To be continued to Part 2

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- Why are We Getting Obese Nowadays? - Part 2 – Healthy Life 20
- Why are We Getting Obese Nowadays? - Part 2 – Healthy Life 20
- Why Passion Flowers could Attract Butterfly? – Science 13
- The Mutant Genes in the Early Onset Familial Alzheimer's – Part 2 - Alzheimer's 6

White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 2 – Food 32

You may read previous posting (Part 1):

- White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 1 – Food 32

Image 1- A Mexican style of Canned hominy

This weekend, I just stay home, love in my “small bubble,” then enjoy reading several books and doing little cooking at kitchen.

I cook my own snack. I would like to share with you my special sweet snack recipe. It can be a snack or an appetizer.

Do you Wonder what is it?

It is white hominy pearls covered with coconut shreds. A kind of a sweet food from white maize or known as field corn too.

Image 2- White flowers, illustration only

The taste of hominy is heavenly, I believe. Sometimes, I cook chicken soups with adding of hominy or posoles.

Image 3- Popcorn, just illustration

Many times, I make hominy porridge with sweet condensed milk and or coconut milk. I also like to add hominy in my salads.

# To be continued to Part 3

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Kumquat is a Little Orange in the Neighborhood – Food 34

We talked about sweet Tangerine at our yard at previous post:

- The Rainbow Before Evening : Sweet Tangerine at Backyard – Food 26

Image 1- Plenty of Kumquat fruit

There is fruit belong to one of our neighbors, a little orange called Kumquat. Oval or around shape with diameter about 1 inch (2.5 cm).

Kumquat came from China and grow very well in the USA. Main states which produce this fruit are:

- Florida
- California
- Alabama
- and Louisiana

Image 2- A Kumquat tree and its fruit

Kumquat has four main species, they are Hong Kong Kumquat, Nagami, Marumi and Meiwa. Unfortunately, I don’t know which one belongs to my neighbor.

General speaking that both Kumquat and Tangerine are sweet. Then, what are different between our Tangerine and a neighbor’s Kumquat?

Image 3- Kumquat, sold in Walmart grocery

Here they are:

- to eat Tangerine, we must peel its skin, then we consume the flesh of fruit
- no need to peel the skin, because sugar concentrates mainly in the skin. We eat whole fruit of Kumquats.

Do you know Kumquat oranges? Have you ever consumed them?

# Previous postings:

- The Rainbow Before Evening : What are Health Benefit of Eating Mango? - Part 2 – Health Life 19
- The Rainbow Before Evening : In what chromosomes are the gene mutation related to Alzheimer's Disease? - Part 2 - Alzheimer's 5
- The Rainbow Before Evening : Differences of Shale Oil, Crude Oil and Fracking – Science 12

The Tabasco Pepper Plant in the Yard – Food 33

We use Tabasco pepper for cooking purposes frequently, especially for certain traditional foods. As you know, it makes our food tastes spicy.

Image 1- Fruit of Tabasco pepper

Some people grow Tabasco pepper as a garden plant in our neighborhood. Fruit looks pretty with several colors, depend on its maturity:

- red
- orange
- green

First, peppers start with green color, then turn to be orange. The most ripen Tabasco pepper is red.

Image 2- A Sunflower and several Tabasco pepper fruit

Image 3- The Tabasco sauce, sold in Walmart grocery

Image 4- Cardinal Loves to consume Tabasco

Process of color changes from green to orange and to red takes more than two months, about 80 days.

Moreover, our state has sauce made of Tabasco pepper. The brand called as “Tabasco.” It is quite popular in our state and even in some foreign countries.

I was not aware that people said Tabasco pepper sauce become hotter over times. Quite surprising for me, actually.

Have you tasted Tabasco pepper or Tabasco pepper sauce? What do you think?

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White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 1 – Food 32

It was 710 days ago, the new virus to be a “breaking news” when we were ready to celebrate the Rat Year of the Chinese New Year.

Image 1- White Hominy Pearls, sold by Walmart

Then I posted about this new coronavirus:

- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 1
- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 2

It is over two years since this type of virus, then we called it Covid-19, came up and spread.

Today, the viruses are still hanging around in this world, even many of us got booster vaccines (third times vaccinated).

Image 2- Just for illustration

Image 3- The colder weeks and we “stay in our bubbles”

The viruses do not want away from us. They developed and becoming new strains instead of leaving us.

At the beginning, the new strains were more virulent than their original, and we have to be aware.

About two years ago “A physician from Baton Rouge, Dr O'Neal, warns us not to get out in the next couples of weeks. He encouraged us to stay in our bubbles”.

# To be Continued to Part 2

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Black Cobra Chili Plants – Food 31

We used to have several kinds of Chili plants in our yard. Just few are Red chili, Jalapeno and hybrid chilies.

Image 1- Fruit with black color

A Black Cobra Chili plant is our new project for fun now. It seems the plant grows well in the backyard, and reach maturity about 90 days or more, depends on many factors include:

- weather (temperature).
- using of fertilizer
- some diseases

Strange and interestingly that fruits color was black at the beginning (please see at Image 1), then the color changes to red after few weeks.

Image 2- Plant height in inches

In my mind that It is a kind of “adorable” and ornamental plant when color of fruit is at black stage.

Image 3- A Black cobra chili plant crawling up

Image 4- Eastern garter, black snake with little white dots, illustration.

Sure, chili (fruit) of black cobra chili is edible, and yes, quite spicy compared to other several chilies such as:

- Jalapeno
- Serrano.
- and Chipotle

In term of Scoville Heat Units (SHU), the unit to measure spiciness (hotness) of chili shows that black cobra chili is in the range of 20,000 to 40,000 SHU scale.

Have you tasted Black Cobra chili? If yes, do you like it?

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