First, I must start out this week’s message with a big GO HEELS! As an alumna of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this week has been an amazing week after winning the National Championship.
Now on to business…last week I was in Charlotte attending the SCAN conference, which is for dietitians that work in sports nutrition, cardiovascular, wellness, and disordered eating. It is a national conference so I was thrilled that it was in North Carolina and I was able to meet dietitians from across the country in my home state. One of the sponsors of the conference was the Prunes of California. They hosted the lunch that was served and I must say that they were very creative in the ways that prunes were incorporated into our meal. Here was the menu:
Appetizer:
Brushetta with prune puree
Salad:
Garden salad with chopped prunes
Entrée:
Chicken stuffed with prunes, goat cheese, and spinach with side of quinoa and vegetable medley
Dessert:
Vanilla panna cotta with prunes
The meal was actually very tasty and I would eat this meal again if served to me. Now, I must confess that I was not requesting the recipes for me to prepare this exact meal at home as I normally would not include so many dishes with prunes. However, I did learn something new about prunes. In a recent study among post-menopausal women, prunes were shown to reverse bone loss that normally occurs with aging. The bone benefits of prunes include nutrients vitamin K and magnesium. In this study, the women consumed between 10-12 prunes each day over a year and did not experience any gastrointestinal distress (I know you all were wondering). Before you rush to the store to purchase your prunes, keep in mind that they can be high in calories as the recommended 10-12 prunes equates to 200-240 calories so they can be a part of a balanced calorie day.
