(Family Features) Around the start of a new year, many people are setting their wellness intentions, from incorporating a variety of greens into meals to boosting daily step goals, drinking more water and practicing gratitude.

The Road to Wellness

As part of the journey, it’s important to rethink nutrition and your recipe repertoire to include better-for-you meals. For example, you can satisfy seafood cravings while getting your protein fix with Italian Crusted Salmon with Creamy Truffle Caesar Salad. This one-pan solution is paired with a Fresh Express Twisted Creamy Truffle Caesar Chopped Salad Kit, inspired by high-end dining experiences with flavors that transport you to the finest restaurants around the world.

The kit allows you to indulge in crunchy garlic brioche croutons paired with garden fresh crispy romaine lettuce, delicate sprinkles of truffle Parmesan cheese shreds and creamy dressing, transforming every bite into a sensation to be savored.

With more than 100 varieties of fresh, healthy and convenient ready-to-eat salads, Fresh Express can also provide recipe inspiration and support on your journey toward a healthier lifestyle. The unique blend of little red and green baby butter lettuces in the Sweet & Crunchy Salad Blend is perfect for adding to Grilled Zucchini Nachos, a delightfully tasty alternative to traditional nachos. This veggie-forward version offers a healthier dinner idea or an easy snack for game day gatherings and other group celebrations.

Visit freshexpress.com to discover more than 380 fresh recipes and find a store near you.

Italian Crusted Salmon with Creamy Truffle Caesar Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons chopped, fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 salmon fillets
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 bag (9.3 ounces) Fresh Express Twisted Caesar Creamy Truffle Caesar Chopped Kit Salad
• 2 lemon wedges (optional)

1. Heat oven to 425 F. Line sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In small bowl, combine garlic, lemon juice, rosemary, honey and salt. In another small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, walnuts and olive oil.
3. Place salmon on prepared sheet pan. Spread mustard mixture over fish; sprinkle with panko mixture, pressing to adhere. Lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with fork.
5. Place greens from salad kit in large bowl. Drizzle with dressing; mix well.
6. Evenly divide salad among two plates. Top with salmon. Serve each with lemon wedge, if desired.

Grilled Zucchini Nachos

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Servings: 4

• 4 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 bag (5 ounces) Fresh Express Sweet & Crunchy Salad Blend
• 1 cup canned corn, cooked and drained
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup green onions
• 1/4 cup red onions
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced (optional)
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sour cream

1. Heat grill to medium heat.
2. In large bowl, toss zucchini and olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Place zucchini on grill pan; grill 4-5 minutes until just tender. Top zucchini with cheese and cook until cheese melts, 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove from grill and place on plate or large platter. Top cheesy grilled zucchini with salad blend; corn; black beans; tomato; green and red onions; jalapeno, if desired; avocado; cilantro; and sour cream.

SOURCE:
Fresh Express

At our core, we at STM Daily News, strive to keep you informed and inspired with the freshest content on all things food and beverage. From mouthwatering recipes to intriguing articles, we’re here to satisfy your appetite for culinary knowledge.

Visit our Food & Drink section to get the latest on Foodie News and recipes, offering a delightful blend of culinary inspiration and gastronomic trends to elevate your dining experience.

https://stmdailynews.com/food-and-drink/

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Katarzyna Kordas, University at Buffalo

Spices bring up feelings of comfort, cultural belonging and holidays. They can make our homes smell amazing and our food taste delicious. They can satisfy our cravings, expand our culinary horizons and help us eat things that we might normally dislike. Spices have health-enhancing properties and, in medicine, have been used to heal people since the ancient times.

Recently, however, spices have been getting a bad rep.

In September 2024, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization created to inform consumers about products sold in the U.S., investigated more than three dozen ground cinnamon products and found that 1 in 3 contained lead levels above 1 part per million, enough to trigger a recall in New York, one U.S. state that has published guidelines for heavy metals in spices.

The Food and Drug Administration issued three alerts throughout 2024, warning consumers about lead in certain brands of cinnamon products. Such notices rightfully put consumers on alert and have people wondering if the spice products they buy are safe – or not. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QxAwznMht8M?wmode=transparent&start=0 A Consumer Reports investigation of more than three dozen ground cinnamon products found that 1 in 3 contain lead levels above 1 part per million.

As an environmental epidemiologist with training in nutritional sciences, I have investigated the relationship between nutritional status, diets and heavy metal exposures in children.

There are several things consumers should be thinking about when it comes to lead – and other heavy metals – in cinnamon.

Why is lead found in cinnamon?

Most people are familiar with cinnamon in two forms – sticks and ground spice. Both come from the dried inner bark of the cinnamon tree, which is harvested after a few years of cultivation. For the U.S. market, cinnamon is largely imported from Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and China.

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One way that lead could accumulate in cinnamon tree bark is when trees are cultivated in contaminated soil. Lead can also be introduced in cinnamon products during processing, such as grinding.

When ground cinnamon is prepared, some producers may add lead compounds intentionally to enhance the weight or color of the product and, thus, fetch a higher sale price. This is known as “food adulteration,” and products with known or suspected adulteration are refused entry into the U.S.

However, in the fall of 2023, approximately 600 cases of elevated blood lead levels in the U.S., defined as levels equal to or above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter – mostly among children – were linked to the consumption of certain brands of cinnamon apple sauce. The levels of lead in cinnamon used to manufacture those products ranged from 2,270 to 5,110 parts per million, indicating food adulteration. The manufacturing plant was investigated by the FDA.

More broadly, spices purchased from vendors in the U.S. have lower lead levels than those sold abroad.

There is some evidence that cinnamon sticks have lower lead levels than ground spice. Lead levels in ground cinnamon sold in the U.S. and analyzed by Consumer Reports ranged from 0.02 to 3.52 parts per million. These levels were at least 1,500 times lower than in the adulterated cinnamon.

There are no federal guidelines for lead or other heavy metals in spices. New York state has proposed even stricter guidelines than its current level of 1 part per million, which would allow the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to remove products from commerce if lead levels exceed 0.21 parts per million.

What does it mean that ‘the dose makes the poison’?

The current FDA guideline on daily intake of lead from diets overall is to limit lead intake to 2.2 micrograms per day for children. For women of reproductive age, this value is 8.8 micrograms.

The lead dose we are exposed to from foods depends on the level of lead in the food and how much of that food we eat. Higher doses mean more potential harm. The frequency with which we consume foods – meaning daily versus occasionally – also matters.

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For spices like cinnamon, the amount and frequency of consumption depends on cultural traditions and personal preference. For many, cinnamon is a seasonal spice; others use it year-round in savory dishes or sauces.

Cinnamon is beloved in baked goods. Take a cinnamon roll recipe calling for 1.5 tablespoons (slightly less than 12 grams) of the spice. If a recipe yields 12 rolls, each will have around 1 gram of cinnamon. In the Consumer Reports investigation, some cinnamon products were classified as “okay to use” or “best to use.”

The highest value of lead in cinnamon products in the “okay to use” category was 0.87 parts per million, and in the “best to use” category, it was 0.15 parts per million. A child would have to consume 2.5 or more rolls made with the “okay to use” cinnamon to exceed the FDA guideline on limiting lead intake from foods to 2.2 micrograms per day, assuming that no other food contained lead. To exceed this guideline with “best to use” cinnamon, a child would have to eat 15 or more rolls.

Can cinnamon contribute to elevated blood lead levels?

Because of lead’s effects on development in early life, the greatest concern is for exposure in young children and pregnant women. Lead is absorbed in the small intestine, where it can latch onto cellular receptors that evolved to carry iron and other metals.

The impact of a contaminated spice on a person’s blood lead level depends on the dose of exposure and the proportion of lead available for intestinal absorption. For several spices, the proportion of available lead was 49%, which means that about half of the lead that is ingested will be absorbed.

Lead absorption is higher after a fast of three hours or more, and skipping breakfast may contribute to higher blood lead levels in children.

People who have nutritional deficiencies, such as iron deficiency, also tend to absorb more lead and have higher blood lead levels. This is because our bodies compensate for the deficiency by producing more receptors to capture iron from foods. Lead takes advantage of the additional receptors to enter the body. Young children and pregnant women are at higher risk for developing iron deficiency, so there is good reason for vigilance about lead in the foods they consume.

Studies show that among children with lead poisoning in the U.S., contaminated spices were one of several sources of lead exposure. Studies that estimate blood lead levels from statistical models suggest that consuming 5 micrograms of lead or more from spices daily could substantially contribute to elevated blood lead levels.

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For occasional or seasonal consumption, or lower levels of contamination, more research is needed to understand how lead in spices would affect lead levels in the blood.

For people who have other sources of lead in their homes, jobs or hobbies, additional lead from foods or spices may matter more because it adds to the cumulative dose from multiple exposure sources.

How to test for elevated blood lead levels

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children at risk for lead exposure get a blood lead test at 1 and 2 years of age. Older children can also get tested. Finger-prick screening tests are often available in pediatric offices, but results may need to be confirmed in venous blood if the screening result was elevated.

Adults in the U.S. are not routinely tested for lead exposure, but concerned couples who plan on having children should talk to their health care providers.

What to consider when using or buying cinnamon or other spices

If the product is on an FDA Alert or the Consumer Reports “don’t use” list, discard it.

Other questions to consider are:

• Does your household use spices frequently and in large amounts?
• Do young children or pregnant women in your household consume spices?
• Do you typically consume spices on breakfast foods or beverages?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then buy good-quality products, from large, reputable sellers. Think about using cinnamon sticks if possible.

And continue to enjoy spices!

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Katarzyna Kordas, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Our Lifestyle section on STM Daily News is a hub of inspiration and practical information, offering a range of articles that touch on various aspects of daily life. From tips on family finances to guides for maintaining health and wellness, we strive to empower our readers with knowledge and resources to enhance their lifestyles. Whether you’re seeking outdoor activity ideas, fashion trends, or travel recommendations, our lifestyle section has got you covered. Visit us today at https://stmdailynews.com/category/lifestyle/ and embark on a journey of discovery and self-improvement.

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(Culinary.net) Instead of assigning cake cutting duty at your holiday party, let dessert serve itself with these Mini Pecan Cheesecakes from “Cookin’ Savvy.” Individually wrapped for ease and convenience – or for giving as parting gifts – they’re a rich and delicious holiday treat. Find more festive desserts at Culinary.net.

Mini Pecan Cheesecakes

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Yield: 20 mini cheesecakes

• 1 package plain round shortbread cookies
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup crushed pecans

1. Heat oven to 325 F.
2. In muffin pan, fill each hole with paper cupcake liners. Place one cookie in bottom of each cup.
3. Whisk flour and sugar. Mix in cream cheese. Using hand mixer, blend in eggs one at a time then add vanilla and sour cream. Mix until smooth then spoon on top of cookies.
4. Mix butter, brown sugar and crushed pecans. Spoon on top of cheesecake mixture.
5. Bake 25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net

At our core, we at STM Daily News, strive to keep you informed and inspired with the freshest content on all things food and beverage. From mouthwatering recipes to intriguing articles, we’re here to satisfy your appetite for culinary knowledge.

Visit our Food & Drink section to get the latest on Foodie News and recipes, offering a delightful blend of culinary inspiration and gastronomic trends to elevate your dining experience.

https://stmdailynews.com/food-and-drink/