Category Archives: Healthy Living

#thursdaythrive Green Beans

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#thursdaythrive  All about Green Beans!
– The use of beans has been so ingrained in the American culture that a few expressions in the English language contain the word “beans.” For example, “spill the beans,” refers to the act of divulging a secret; and “full of beans” is a phrase used to describe a person who is energetic and active.
– Green beans grow very fast. The length of time from planting to harvesting is only 45 to 60 days. Ideally, they should be grown during the spring and summer months, since the plants cannot tolerate cold temperatures.
– Nutritionally, green beans provide the body with lots of fiber and protein. They are also very low in fat, while containing antioxidants, Vitamins A and C, folate, magnesium and potassium. The combination of these nutrients helps prevent diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
– Every last Saturday in July, the city of Blairsville, Georgia, honors the green bean with the Green Bean Festival. The celebration includes cooking contests, canning plant tours, beauty pageants and other activities that showcase the vegetable.

#thursdaythrive Avocado

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#thursdaythrive  All about Avocados!
– Avocados are ripe when they feel heavy for their size, yield to light pressure and are dark in color. But don’t squeeze these delicate babies too hard. Not ripe? Put in a brown paper bag for 2-4 days, or you can speed up this process by putting a banana or apple in the bag.
– Avocado trees do not self-pollinate; they need another avocado tree close by to bear fruit.
– The avocado is an Aztec symbol of love and fertility, and they also grow in pairs on trees.
– Don’t let its rough outer covering fool you — the inner smoothness and creaminess are what we need for youthful skin. With all of the nutrients, healthy fat and vitamins, an avocado tree could be the next fountain (tree) of youth!
– Avocados are one of the only fruits that contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (the good-for-you fat) that helps boost good (HDL) cholesterol and lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol.

#thursdaythrive Eggplant

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#thursdaythrive    Eggplant Facts:
– Eggplants aren’t REALLY vegetables, they’re berries. Which isn’t that strange, considering other fruits are commonly mistaken for vegetables – like tomatoes.
– A study published in 1993 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that eggplant has by far the highest level of nicotine of any vegetable. But it’s such a small amount that there’s really no need for concern. You would have to eat between 20 and 40 pounds of eggplant to consume the amount of nicotine you’d get smoking one cigarette.
– The word “eggplant” that we use in North America comes from British-colonized India, where at the time, a small, white, egg-like variety of the vegetable was all the rage.
– Japan even has a proverb about eggplant:
“The happiest omen for a New Year is first Mount Fuji, then the falcon, and lastly eggplant.”