EASY AND HEALTHY RECIPES, TIPS FOR HEALTHY LIVING, FOOD REVIEWS, ETC

Monday, March 8, 2010

Super Fruits and Fruit Sushi: Cherry Coconut Cream Gelee and a GIVEAWAY

Certain red and purple colored fruits like cherries, blueberries, black plums, blackberries, raspberries and pomegranate are called super fruits as they are rich in substances known as antioxidants.  Antioxidants protect our cells from damaging effects of free radicals. Flavonoids, beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, selenium, vitamins A, C and E are examples of antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, meats and fish. WebMd talks about antioxidants, their sources and how to get more of these in a healthy diet. You might want to check it out. 

Another health food is agar (agar-agar/ kanten).  It is a vegetarian gelatin substitute from seaweed extract and it contains about 84% fiber.  In Japan where nearly everyone thinks "thin is beautiful", the kanten diet is getting a lot of attention as a potential weight loss agent. When eaten as part of a meal, agar triples in size and readily absorbs water so a person feels full quickly and becomes less prone to overeat!
I've been trying to be creative in getting more super fruits in our meals. So today I'm sharing a recipe using 
FruitFast---a liquid fruit supplement. Each teaspoon of FruitFast contains 100-200 mg of anthocyanins (a flavonoid antioxidant).  FruitFast products are made from Michigan red tart cherries, pomegranates, wild blueberries and the fruit pastes are placed into yummy snack bars, fruit goos and liquid fruit supplements.  The process maintains the fruits' original composition so it is not a fruit extract or a powder. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to enter the FruitFast giveaway.
To create this fruit sushi, I used FruitFast Cherry Flex derived from 100% Montmorency Tart Cherries.  I made two kinds of gelee -- cherry and coconut cream---and let them set in separate containers.  The base of my fruit sushi was a layer of cherry gelee.  Over this, I placed coconut cream gelee and another layer of cherry gelee.  On top this stack I had a slice of fresh, ripe mango and kiwi. The tartness and intensity of cherry is beautifully balanced by the delicate flavor of the creamy coconut gelee and the sweetness of ripe mangoes and kiwi. If you like to try a new dessert, here's the recipe:

Cherry Gelee
1 cup water
2 Tbsp Fruit Fast Cherry Flex
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp agar
Mix everything in a saucepan.  Make sure the agar is completely dissolved then turn on the heat. Let simmer for a couple of minutes till all the sugar and agar granules are in solution. Pour into a rectangular mold and place in the refrigerator to set for about 2 hours.

Coconut Cream Gelee
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp agar
Mix everything in a saucepan.  Make sure the agar is completely dissolved then turn on the heat. Let simmer for a couple of minutes till all the sugar and agar granules are in solution. Pour into a rectangular mold and place in the refrigerator to set for about 2 hours.

Assemble the fruit sushi and cut to serving sizes. Enjoy!

GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT

You have a chance to try FruitFast products!  FruitFast is giving away fruit bars and liquid supplements to one of my readers.  Their Montmorency Dried Tart Cherries and fruit supplement bars are amazing but they have a variety of products you can choose from so if you want to enter the giveaway, visit their website and tell me (in the comments section) which three products you'd like to try by March 21.  They will ship it to the winner directly.  If you don't have a blog, you can still win --you don't have to place your email address in the comments--send it to momgateway@gmail.com to keep your privacy.  Good luck to everyone!

28 comments:

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

I am such a giveaway whore, would love to enter, but out of the country for a few months... next time, good luck everyone

Shirley said...

Love your blog! Thank you for visiting mine. I like this recipe,looks really good. I'd like to participate in this giveaway.
I'd like to try out their Fruit Juice concentrates, Liquid Fruit supplements and Premium Dried fruits.
Keep in touch!

Shirley said...

Following you through email.

Jeannie said...

Delicious looking fruity jellies. I love eating them especially during these hot spells. Thanks for visiting my blog:D

Anonymous said...

A gorgeous creation!

Ivy said...

Thanks for passing from my blog. Your fruit sushi looks beautiful, refreshing and mostly very healthy.

tasteofbeirut said...

I would like to comment on your dessert first. I have started using agar-agar as an alternative to gelatin; I noticed that they are marked up several times in regular American supermarkets liked Wholefoods, as opposed to Asian markets; I am still trying to get the hang of the product.
Your dessert sounds exquisite with a great balance of flavors.

Fresh Local and Best said...

I would try the fruit concentrate in raspberry, fruit supplement in raspberry and dried fruit in cherry.

Sharlene T. said...

Definitely going to try that Agar-Agar. Just love saying the words. My three favorites to try: Premium Dried Fruits, Fruit Juice Concentrates, and Liquid Fruit Supplements. Any flavors. I like to experiment. 8-)

Mimi said...

Refreshing looking dessert. I would like to try the wild blueberry and pomegranate juice concentrates along with the dried wild blueberries.
Mimi

Reeni said...

I never heard of this fruit fast! Your gelee sound yummy - especially the coconut cream one. I would love to try the softgel capsules, the bars and the dried fruit.

ann low said...

This is such a beautiful dessert and looks so tempting ;D
Nice blog you with interesting recipes, will follow and link you.

shaz said...

Thanks for visiting my blog:) Probably not eligible for this giveaway so good luck everyone else. That fruit sushi looks very cute!

sweetlife said...

the fruit supplements look divine..I love your dessert looks so sastisfying!!

sweetlife

MaryMoh said...

A fabulous dessert....looks very refreshing and delicious.

Angie said...

Great recipe! I really need to eat more fruit.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

These super fruits are gorgeous. Good luck everyone in the give-away.
Sam

SushiTail said...

That's creative!

Juliana said...

Yummie, love your fruit creation...love desserts with agar :-) I'd love to try the concentrate pomegranate juice and the cherry bars...although everything looks good it is hard to really pick ;-)

Belinda @zomppa said...

This is soooo pretty! Fruit sushi - how creative!!

Simply Life said...

I'd love to try the dried blueberries, cranberries and any of the fruit supplement bars!

juliecache said...

any of the granola and dried cranberries or either of the dried cherries (to make our own granola) would be fab!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

The fruit sushi looks amazing!

Great giveaway! I would love to try the fruit concentrates in cherry, blueberry, and raspberry.

Lynn said...

Hello!

I would most like to try Fruit Fast' 1) tart cherry juice concentrate 2) the mixed berry with chocolate fruit supplement bars and 3) the dried cranberries.
Love your blog.

Lynn

Sped said...

I'd like to try the pomegranate and cherry concentrate, dried cherries and any of the bars. Thanks for this great giveaway.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I would like to try any of the fruit juice concentrates, the premium dried fruits, and the cherry bars. -Tien

Anonymous said...

Your blog is interesting. I look forward to more recipes esp. with LOTS of veggies.

Regarding the contest. Pomegranite juice, Just Fruit berry bars and Wild blueberry bars. These items look very interesting to me.

Thank you,

Paula T.

carole said...

I'd love to try the grape juice concentrate, the cherryflex prosport shots, and the cherry juice concentrate. Sounds yummy, all of it!