Monday, October 27, 2008

Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI)

Hi Everyone!

How are you all doing? Hope your Monday wasn't too terrible! The wonderful Gina at Fitnessista selected me to pick the next BSI (Thanks Gina!!). I went back and forth on what to pick alllll day! I wanted to pick either something that was in season, that can be made to be either savory or sweet, or that everyone had on hand in their kitchen. So far, the BSI's have been:

Week 8: Cranberries
Week 7: Lentils
Week 6: Polenta
Week 5: Butternut Squash
Week 4: Apples
Week 3: Mushrooms
Week 2: Tomatoes
Week 1: Quinoa

and Week 9..................................
Pears!

(picture from here)

I picked pears for a number of reasons: 1. they're delicious, 2. they are "in season", and 3. they have many health benefits including (all of this info came from here):

1. Good source of vitamin C and Coper which protect our body from oxygen-related damage due to free radicals.
2. Pears contain fiber which helps prevent constipation and ensures regularity. ;)Fiber also binds to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon, preventing them from damaging colon cells. Results of a prospective study involving 51,823 postmenopausal women for an average of 8.3 years showed a 34% reduction in breast cancer risk for those consuming the most fruit fiber compared to those consuming the least.
3. They are a hypoallergenic fruit.
4. Eating more fruit can help protect against macular degeneration (i.e. losing your sight).
(for even more benefits see this website)

SO bring on the pear recipes! Please send me your recipe either via a link in my comments or email me at itzyskitchen@gmail.com by midnight on Sunday 11/2! A fun prize pack that will keep you cooking will be given to the winner!

35 comments:

Esi said...

Fun! I would love to try, but I have already been to the farmers market this week and I didn't pick up any pears. I'm interested to see what people come up with!!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I LOVE PEARS!!!!! Nice choice :0)

HangryPants said...

Interesting pick! I don't like to eat pears as a fruit, but I like them in things. I hope I can think of something.

Becca said...

Yummy!

So I'm so out of the loop, what are the rules for BSI?

Krista said...

Pears! Can't wait...I'm up for the challenge!

Sarah said...

What fun!! My favorite variety of pear are the brown ones- I can never remember their name!

The first thing I thought of when I read your post was pearsauce, because I just made applesauce. Why not do the same with pears? I've never tried it but it sounds lovely.

Sarah said...

Seriously, I'm really inspired to make pearsauce now. I can't wait to link the post to you!

We are having guests on Halloween for apps while we hand out candy (we live in a big neighborhood for kids), and I was already planning to make more applesauce to serve. Now I think I'll make BOTH!

:-)

Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point said...

oooo i have pears in the fridge right now!!!

Anonymous said...

YEAH BABY! I already ate two of these bad boys today. Or bad girls.
P.S. I hate to be a demanding reader, but I can't go much longer w/o a Frank picture.

Anonymous said...

I'm with hangrypants - can't say I like to eat pears on their own, but they are tasty in things. Hmmm...maybe I'll come up with something.

Unknown said...

Love it :) sarah- the brown-skinned ones are bosc's!

Fitnessista said...

yeahhhh!
excellent choice :D
i've got one in the fride, ready to go!

Jenn said...

I made a pear crumble last year (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pear_crumble.html), and it turned out really well, in case someone needs some inspiration. :)

Maggie M. said...

Great pick! I'll be thinking up something good :D

Anonymous said...

great choice! i always mean to eat more of them, so this is a great kick forward :D

Erica said...

Yayyy and I cannot wait for the recipes!

Tina said...

Pears! Ok, I am going to enter this week! :)

Holly said...

I'm out of the loop, too....do you just create your own recipe and send to you? I looooove pears. Great choice. :-)

Anonymous said...

I actaully had an idea in my head for something that involved pears and now you have given me the perfect excuse to give it a shot! Can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with. :)

RhodeyGirl/Sabrina said...

i am psyched for this one!

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

Great pick for winter.
I'll try to figure out something before 11/2. ^_^

BOBBI McCORMICK said...

I just went pear picking! Can't wait to play with pears this week:)

Anonymous said...

I have the perfect recipe for this contest that I was going to make for Thanksgiving - you just gave me an excuse to make a test batch a bit sooner! ;)

Anonymous said...

What's the deadline on getting the recipes to you by the way??

Anonymous said...

I think I might take a stab at it! My Mom's co-worker has a pear tree in his back yard! She has tons of pears!

Rose said...

I'm so excited for your choice - and I'm always excited to have found your blog!

Unknown said...

hey girly! i just posted my BSI submission!!!
here's the link:
http://www.fitnessista.com/2008/10/busy-bee-and-bsi-submission.html
have a great night!

lauren said...

good pick - i will have to see if I can come up with something!!!

ChickPea said...

I have a semi-recipe to submit! I made a pear-berry parfait a few days ago for breakfast.

Read about it here:
http://broccolihut.blogspot.com/2008/10/lazy-chef.html

B_Hlthy said...

I picked up my pears yesterday for this weeks BSI .. SO excited! I never eat pears, love em, just dont tend to pick them up !

Maggie M. said...

Just posted my recipe - http://www.thesaladgirl.com/?p=986

Anonymous said...

Great choice! Organic pears are on sale too! LOL

Darren said...

I love pears. Homemade pear juice is a great remedy for constipation.

Anonymous said...

I love using pear to make green smoothies. Add a little banana to spinach and kale and wallah! you have a delicious breakfast smoothie.
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Anonymous said...

Fun! I would love to try!
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